The research on spatial heterogeneity is meaningful for forest regeneration dynamics, which is a critical part in the forest ecosystem dynamics. Traditionally, forestry scientists are mainly concentrated their attention to the studies on the process of regeneration. However forests are spatiotemporal heterogeneous. In regeneration, there exists an ecological dynamic process at temporal scale, but also a heterogeneous pattern at spatial scale. Almost of the factors influencing forest regeneration, including both botic and abotic environment, both natural and human disturbances, and both characteristics of tree species and response of tree species to different disturbance agents, are spatially heterogeneous. Discussion on spatial heterogeneity and its effect on regeneration is indispensable for the understanding of the pattern, process and mechanism of forest regeneration. Main research contents and viewpoints of spatial heterogeneity in forest regeneration were summarised on the basis of available literature, and sources of spatial heterogeneity in the process of regeneration were analysed. The response of species to spatial heterogeneity, small-scale spatial heterogeneity and regeneration dynamics, spatial heterogeneity of lights in stand and regeneration pattern, and correlative relationships between the scales of soil heterogeneity and regeneration heterogeneity were reviewed.