Abstract: Embryogenesis is the base of plant growth and development.The single cell gives rise to a functional multicellular organism in this process. In higher plants, the body axes and major tissue are established in the early stage of embryogenesis and serve as a positional framework for subsequent pattern formation. The axial construction can provide a coordinate system for the embryogenesis.In this review, the pattern formation of embryogenesis and the mechanism of gene regulation in Arabidopsis will be discussed. The main reviews are as follows:the zygote elongation and embryogenic polarity are controlled by the MPK/GRD pathway; the asymmetric division and the direction of apicalbasal axis decided by WOX8、WOX9、WOX2 expression; the auxin signal and the gene regulatory network of WOX5, WUS/CLV3, STM had functions in the establishment or maintenance of root and shoot pole; the auxin signal and the antagonism of CUC/TCP expression controled the formation of cotyledons and the establishment of adaxial/abaxial patterning; the SCR/SHR pathway regulated radial patterning in the basal domain of embryo. These key genes and their regulatory genes compose the network of embryogenesis. Understanding these molecular mechanisms shed novel insights into plant development and growth.