Plants have evolved large families of receptorlike kinases(RLK) to perceive and process external signal to form coordinated responses, which are critical to adapt to various physiological processes and biological metabolism of plants. M/MLDRLKs are unique to plants because of their unique and novel malectinlike domains in their extracellular domain. Recent studies have shown that M/MLDRLKs involved in plant development and biotic/abiotic stress regulation. This article reviews the research history, structural characteristics and biological functions of plant M/MLDRLKs. We systematically reviewed the recent studies on the functions of M/MLDRLKs in regulating plant roots, leaves, flower development and various stress responses. This will provide a reference for elucidating the physiological functions of M/MLDRLKs in the process of plant growth and development.