Fire is an essential component of the Earth system and a severe environmental disturbance factor. Fire is an important driver and catalyst for ecosystem changes, which regulates the structure and function of the ecosystem and provides feedback to regional and global climate systems. In recent years, extreme fire events that are rare in history have erupted in many countries around the world, drawing unprecedented attention to the interaction between fire disturbance, climate change, and human activities. This paper mainly reviews the progress of fire disturbance research in a changing environment from three aspects, including (1) spatiotemporal patterns of fire disturbance; (2) driving mechanisms of fire disturbance; (3) ecological effects of fire disturbance. In summary, state-of-the-art remote sensing technology has greatly improved the accuracy of fire monitoring, and the portrayal of the spatiotemporal pattern of fire has shifted from focusing on a single factor of fire burned area to the fire regime with multiple attributes. Climate change and human activities jointly determine the pattern, frequency, and intensity of fire disturbance. Taking into account the seasonality of climate can improve the prediction ability of the global fire system. Fires play an important role in regulating the competition between herbaceous and woody vegetation and thus are very important for biodiversity and habitat maintenance. In addition, fire disturbance affects the atmospheric composition and air quality through the release of large amounts of greenhouse gases from biomass burning, while impacting the climate system by altering land surface conditions and affecting land-atmosphere interactions. A better understanding of the interactions and feedback of climate-vegetation-fire can facilitate the prediction of fire regimes. In the future climate scenario, increases in extreme climate events, such as high temperatures, strong winds, and droughts, create a fire-prone environment. Although an increased risk of fire disturbances in most parts of the world, human activity may decouple the relationship between fire and climate. Sustainable fire management should fully integrate ecological knowledge and indigenous fire culture to reduce the risk of extreme fires, with the goal of protecting biodiversity, maintaining vital ecosystem services, and mitigating climate change.