Through a review of recent investigations into the effects of hydrodynamic action on the adsorption/release of pollutants(heavy metals, phosphorus, etc. )by sediments, the influence of water turbulence intensity and velocity on the distribution of pollutants in water and sediment in rivers was analyzed. The results show that, when the turbulence intensity is low, sediments occur in a form close to bed sediment, and the rate and extent of adsorption/release of pollutants by sediments are low. As the turbulence intensity increases, the shear stress at the water-sediment interface increases, sediment suspension is promoted, and the contact area between pollutants and suspended sediment particles increases, leading to a significant increase in the rate and extent of adsorption/release of pollutants by sediments. The effect of the water velocity on the distribution of pollutants in water and sediment is complex. When the sediment is stationary, with the increase of the velocity, the boundary layer thickness decreases, the dissolved oxygen content in water and redox potential increase, the diffusion of pollutants in the water body changes from molecular diffusion to turbulent diffusion, and the pollutant exchange flux at the water-sediment interface increases. With further increase of the velocity, the bed sediment gradually moves and is suspended. At this moment, the state of sediment movement, intensity of collision between suspended matters, and flocculation of sediments also have effects on the adsorption/release of pollutants by sediments. Because of the extensive factors and the complexity of the functional mechanism, there is a disagreement between results regarding the influence of sediment movement on the adsorption/release of pollutants by sediments reported by different researchers, and simplification is carried out through mechanism studies and establishment of mathematical models. It is pointed out that future studies should focus on the mechanism of the influence of the water and sediment movement as well as chemical and biological processes on the distribution of pollutants in water and sediment in rivers and the interaction of oxygen consumption organics and nocuous organics with sediments.