Cyanobacteria of the genus Synechococcus is a dominant component of microbial community in the world's oceans, and is a major contributor to marine primary productivity and thus plays an important role in carbon cycling in the oceans. Besides the ecological importance, the ultivability also made Synechococcus a very special group of marine microorganisms, which has attracted great attentions from oceanographers and biologists. Great progress in the physiology, biochemistry and phylogeny of Synechococcus has been made since its discovery. We here review the current status of molecular ecology of marine Synechococcus and give a perspective into the future based on our understanding of the literature and our own work.