Abstract: Abstract: The perceptual interference effect is a phenomenon that a study word is better remembered later on if presented briefly and followed by a backward mask. Affecting factors of the perceptual interference, such as testing modes, experimental design, and properties of materials, were summarized. There were six major hypotheses for the perceptual interference effect: Elaboration Account, Spatio-Temporal Context, Westerman & Greene Account, Compensatory-Processing Account, Selective Rehearsal Hypothesis and Item-Specific-Relation Framework. In conclusion, further research in this field should be focused on extending research areas and experimental materials, and on the impact of subjective factors

Key words: perceptual interference effect, memory, encoding