Inland waters are important parts in global carbon biogeochemial cycles. It is also one of the main sources of methane. Annual emissions of CH₄ from inland freshwaters and natural wetlands into the atmosphere is 185-357 Tg/a. Methane is mainly produced by the reactions between bottom organic sediments and methanogenic bacteria in anoxic zone of inland waters. Methane is then consumed by methane-oxidizing bacteria during its upsurge to surface water. Methane-oxidizing bacteria can be divided into aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria and anaerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria. Under aerobic conditions, the aerobic methane oxidation process mediated by aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria is the main form of methane oxidation process in water, and about 99% of the total CH₄ produced at the bottom of the lake can be consumed by the aerobic methane oxidation process in the overlying water. According to the comprehensive analysis of literature collected in this paper, the process of aerobic methane oxidation is controlled by water environmental factors, hydrological conditions and ecosystem characteristics of different inland waters, and also reflected in the habitat preference of aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria. The complex regulation process constructs the dynamic balance of the total amount of CH₄ transported from inland waters to the atmosphere, which is reflected in the contribution of inland waters to the global CH₄ cycle and carbon cycle.