Mononuclear macrophages, which protect people from many infections, play a pivotal role both in innate and acquired immune system. Meanwhile, in order to cope with the attacks of the macrophages, bacteria have evolved several effective strategies to survive and colonize the host. This paper summarizes various modes that bacteria have evolved to evade the killing by macrophages: （1）antiphagocytosis, （2）anti-degradation of the phagolysosomes, （3） inducing apoptosis or necrosis of the macrophages，and （4）inhibiting apoptosis or necrosis of the macrophages.