Intercropping has played an important role in low input agriculture in the world as well as high-productivity agriculture with high-input in China. There are various high-productivity intercropping systems in China, with more than ten tons of grain yield, such as wheat/maize, wheat/soybean, wheat/faba bean, faba bean/maize, peanut/maize, and vegetables/maize intercropping. Interspecific facilitation on nutrient utilization, is one of the most important mechanisms for intercropping yield advantage, but was known little. This paper reviews the mechanisms of the interspecific facilitation in terms of spatial and temporal root distribution in soil profiles and the phosphorus complementary utilization for different forms or sources between P-efficient and P-inefficient species, enhanced nitrogen fixation by interspecific interactions, nitrogen transfer from nodulation legumes to associated cereals in legumes/cereals intercropping, and microelement utilization between intercropped species, especially for Fe efficient utilization by interspecific interactions between the species with strategy I and strategy II for Fe uptake. The results originated from Biodiversity and Resource Utlization research group in China Agricultural University, lasted for more than ten years. First of all, spatial compatibility and temporal differentiation of root distribution was contributed to one of mechanisms involved in interspecific facilitation. Secondly, different P sources or forms in soil was utilized to a different extend by different associated species. For example, chickpea utilized well organic P (phytate-P) by a large amount of acid phosphatase exudated from its root system and faba bean utilized sparingly-soluble inorganic P (Fe-P or Al-P) in soil more efficiently than maize did, which benefit P uptake by associated maize, and reduced the interspecific competition on P in soil. Thirdly, proportion of plant N derived from atmosphere, biological N2 fixation by legumes, was enhanced by intercropping. The directly nitrogen transfer from legumes to cereal is limited for N economical utilization in legumes/cereals intercropping. however, main mechanism underlying efficient nitrogen utilization in the intercropping probably was through a stimulation of nodulation and nitrogen fixation of legumes, by soil nitrogen depletion that caused by more N competitive and more N uptake by associated cereals. Finally, complementary utilization of Fe and some other microelements was discussed in the paper. Processes for improved Fe nutrition of peanut (strategy I for Fe absorption) by associated maize (strategy II for Fe absorption) also were included.