Abstract: Autobiographical memory（AM）is the memory of personal events. It constructs the main channel of interaction among self, emotion and personal significance in human cognition. The approach of AM research has enriched the scope of memory research and become a new growing point in memory research and even in the whole cognitive psychology. With advanced technology of neuroscience, like PET, fMRI and slow cortical potential, neural mechanisms for autobiographical memory retrieval have been studied. In this paper, the SMS model, neuroanatomy of AM retrieval, lateralization of AM retrieval and role of hippocampus in AM are reviewed, and the methods of studying neural mechanisms for autobiographical memory retrieval are also discussed

Key words: autobiographical memory, neuroimage, slow cortical potential