As a long-lived beta-emitting radioisotope of iodine, I-129 is produced both naturally and as a result of human nuclear activities. At present time, the main part of I-129 in the environment originates from the human nuclear activity, especially the releases from the spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plants, the I-129/I-127 ratios have being reached to values of 10(-10) to 10(-4) in the environment from 10(-12) in the pre-nuclear era. In this article, we review the occurrence, sources, inventory, and concentration level of I-129 in environment and the method for speciation analysis of I-129 in the environment. Measurement techniques for the determination of I-129 are presented and compared. An overview of applications of I-129 speciation in various scientific disciplines such as radiation protection, waste depository, and environmental sciences is given. In addition, the bioavailability and radiation toxicity (close to thyroid) of I-129 are discussed. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.