Living benthic foraminifera have significant values in many research fields， such as indication of environmental factors of benthic ecosystem. In the study of benthic foraminifera， one of the most controversial issues is how to identify living ones accurately and quickly. Researchers have developed a variety of methods for identifying living foraminifera. Here， we summarized the advantages and disadvantages and cautions during their applications. Rose Bengal is relatively quick and inexpensive， becoming the most commonly used method for identifying living foraminifera. Sudan black B and MTT are more accurate than Rose Bengal， but their operation is slightly complicated and often overlooked as a method to distinguish foraminifera. Fluorogenic probes are not harmful to foraminiferal living activities and have higher accuracy， but complicated and expensive. They are often recommended for studies of foraminifera under hypoxic/anoxic conditions. Adenosine Triphosphate Assay and Ultrastructural Studies have high accuracy， but the operation is complicated and the equipment requirements are high. Adenosine Triphosphate Assay is widely used in estimating numerical density of living foraminifera and calculation of foraminifera biomass， and also recommended for the study of foraminifera under hypoxic/anoxic conditions. Ultrastructural Studies can analyze the adaptability of foraminifera to specific environmental conditions such as hypoxia and heavy metal pollution. Researchers should choose one or more appropriate methods according to research objectives， research costs and other conditions to obtain more reliable research results.