DNA damage repair (SOS response) plays an important role for bacteria to adapt to the environment, resist external pressure and repair DNA damage. In order to understand the process and comprehensively revealing the survival mechanism of bacteria, here we systematically review the studies of the process, regulation and subsequent adaptive results of DNA damage repair. The results show that both endogenous and exogenous pressures can activate the SOS response,especially antibiotics. RecA plays an important role in the process of sensing external pressure and system start-up process, and is also an important regulation target. As a repressor protein,LexA is an inhibitor of the whole response. After the SOS response starts, LexA releases a series of downstream DNA damage repair genes to complete the DNA repair.The adaptive results of SOS response are as follows: DNA precise repair,slowing down or stopping cell division, increasing of chromosome mutation rate, virulence or pathogenicity change, enhanced drug resistance or horizontal transmission of drug-resistance genes. Understanding the whole process of SOS response is helpful to reveal the survival and metabolism process of bacteria adapting to the environment, and lay a theoretical foundation for the prevention and control of pathogenic bacteria.