The rotifer Brachionus plicatilis complex, including B.plicatilis O.F. Müller (formerly called L-type) and B.rotundiformis Tschugunoff (formerly called S-type) as an excellent live food for many species of marine fish larvae, has been widely used in most of the modern marine hatcheries in the world. Rotifer resting eggs (i.e. dormant eggs) are considered as the best or ideal form for storage and application of the rotifers in aquaculture. Numerous studies have been therefore carried out on the resting eggs especially on their dormancy and hatching. This paper reviews the relevant work on controlling factors of hatching, including both the internal factors (e.g. dormant period, genotype, and maternal culture history) and the external ones (e.g. preservation conditions and methods, preservation period, incubation conditions and sterilizing or processing of the eggs). The possible functional mechanisms of these factors for the hatching of resting eggs are also discussed.