With the intensification of global climate change, the increase of plant photosynthetic limitations in terrestrial ecosystem has become the main internal factor to reduce the net primary productivity of global vegetation. It is an important prerequisite that we understand systematically the limiting factors of plant photosynthesis for the assessing vegetation productivity scientifically, alleviating photosynthetic limitations, and increasing the ability of plant photosynthetic carbon assimilation. The factors of plant photosynthetic limitations were explained systematically. The responses of three limiting factors of photosynthesis (biochemical limitation l_b, stomatal limitation l_s, mesophyll limitation l_m) to different environments were analyzed, and the mesophyll limitation and its influence mechanisms were discussed emphatically. The quantitative analysis methods and improvement measures of photosynthetic limitations were reviewed. Finally, the following suggestions for the future research of plant photosynthetic limitations driven by the goal of improving vegetation productivity were formulated:(1) Combing genetic engineering technology and system biology data to improve vegetation productivity; (2) The mechanism for the impact of stomatal response speed on plant photosynthesis; (3) Driving genes of aquaporin (AQPs) and carbonic anhydrase (CAs) to perceive changes of environmental signals. This review is expected to provide some references for further understanding and reducing plant photosynthetic limitations nd improving the ability of photosynthetic carbon assimilation under the background of future climate change.