全球多地鸣沙资源正面临退化甚至“失声”的风险，对鸣沙发声机制的研究，对于揭示鸣沙发声之谜以及科学保护、恢复与可持续利用这一珍贵自然遗产具有紧迫意义。系统梳理了鸣沙研究从19 世纪初至今的百年历程，将其划分为经验描述、实验探索与多尺度机理建模3 个阶段，并基于现有鸣沙发现绘制了世界和区域鸣沙资源地理分布图。在理论层面，详细阐述了鸣沙发声的影响因素，以及诸多经典假说的兴替与融合，并基于现有成果构建了一个鸣沙发声机制的多尺度理论框架。未来鸣沙研究的重点应着力于多尺度理论的定量验证、发声参数的跨尺度关联建模、全球资源系统调查、环境脆弱性评估及多学科交叉应用等方向，以期为鸣沙机理的最终阐明与资源的可持续保护提供科学依据。

Abstract： Singing sand resources worldwide are facing degradation or even loss of voice due to over‑tourism, pollution, and climate change. Understanding their sound‑producing mechanism is urgent for the scientific conservation, restoration, and sustainable utilization of this natural and cultural heritage. Singing sands are classified into desert booming sand, which produces low‑frequency, sustained booming sounds, and coastal singing sand, which emits high‑frequency, short squeaks. The two types differ in particle size, mineral composition, and triggering conditions. This review systematically summarizes the century‑long evolution of singing sand research from the early 19th century to the present, dividing it into three stages: empirical description, experimental exploration, and multiscale mechanistic modeling. Based on existing discoveries, global and regional distribution maps are compiled, highlighting recent findings of coastal singing sand colonies on Hainan Island, China. Key influencing factors are elaborated, including mineral composition, particle size and sorting, surface cleanliness, moisture content with a threshold effect at approximately 1%, and triggering modes. Classical hypotheses such as elastic cushion, electrostatic or piezoelectric effects, and stick-slip are examined and largely refuted. By contrast, the friction-shearing theory advanced by Bagnold, the surface microstructure of hollows and pores revealed by SEM, and the Helmholtz resonator model proposed by Qu et al. are emphasized as breakthroughs. The review further integrates meso‑scale theories on boundary layer and creep/collision shear as well as macro‑scale waveguide resonance into a multiscale theoretical framework: from macroscopic energy injection, through microscopic Helmholtz resonance and frequency locking, to waveguide‑mediated amplification and radiation. Future research priorities include quantitative experimental validation of multiscale coupling, cross‑scale modeling linking particle size and pore geometry to acoustic frequency, systematic global surveys and database construction, environmental vulnerability assessments, and multidisciplinary applications such as biomimetic acoustic materials and environmental sensing. This comprehensive synthesis provides a scientific basis for elucidating the singing sand mystery and guiding sustainable resource protection.