Pyruvate, an important organic acid, is widely used in the industries of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, agrochemicals, food additives and so on. Compared with the chemical method, biotechnological production of pyruvic acid is an alternative approach because of the low cost and high product quality. In this article, biosynthesis of pyruvate, including direct fermentative production and resting cell method as well as enzymatic method, was discussed. Furthermore, a comparison of these different methods was proposed. Since, a multi-vitamin auxotrophic strain of Torulopsis glabrata is the most competitive strain for industrial production of pyruvate, emphasis was therefore placed on the development of strains screening and fermentation optimization. Finally, some suggestions were put forward to improve the research in this field in the near future.