Abstract: The present paper addresses the syllable’s role in language production. Firstly the concept of syllable is introduced. Secondly the syllable’s position in language production theories is discussed. Then the syllable’s studies are summarized from the following two aspects: (1) the influential experimental paradigms, and (2) three important issues in this field. The main experimental paradigms include masked priming, repetition priming, implicit priming and picture-word interference paradigms. The main important issues are: (1) whether syllable is a functional unit in language production or not, (2) how syllable play important role in speech production, and (3) where is syllable priming effect. Finally, corresponding to the unique characteristics of syllable in Chinese, the syllable’s studies in Chinese word production and the perspectives of further research are discussed

Key words: syllable, language production, experimental paradigm