Chinese traditional fermented vegetables are made from fresh vegetables through microbial metabolism and a series of chemical reactions. During the fermentation process, the microbial community structure is complex, and the dominant microorganisms at different stages play different roles, which has a great impact on the quality, flavor and safety of fermented vegetables. Based on this, this article reviews the effect of the microbial diversity on the quality, flavor, and safety of Chinese traditional fermented vegetables as well as the abiotic factors affecting the microbial diversity, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for improving the quality and safety of fermented vegetables.