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Owing to its biosynthetic and biodegradable properties, polylactic acid (PLA) is considered to be a most promising biopolymer that could play a crucial role as a potentially environmentally friendly material for a sustainable bioeconomy. However, its long-life cycle indicates that it cannot be easily degraded in nature. Therefore, understanding the biodegradation mechanism of PLA is important for reducing the impacts of waste plastic and waste disposal. With the recent development of molecular biology techniques, some studies have confirmed that specific groups of microorganisms can facilitate the biodegradation of PLA. Here, recent advances in the biodegradation of PLA (i.e., microbial and enzymatic degradation) and key factors affecting the degradation efficiency were reviewed. In addition, compared with complete degradation through mineralization, upcycling is also proposed as a more recyclable strategy for disposing of waste plastics. Key words: PLA, biodegradation, microorganisms, enzymes, upcycling. En raison de son caractere biosynthetique et biodegradable, l'acide polylactique (PLA) est considere comme le biopolymere le plus prometteur parmi toutes les matieres plastiques, qui jouera un role cle en tant que materiau potentiellement ecologique dans une bioeconomie durable. Toutefois, son long cycle de vie indique qu'il ne peut pas etre facilement degrade dans la nature. Il est donc important de comprendre le mecanisme de biodegradation du PLA pour reduire les impacts des dechets plastiques. Avec le developpement recent des techniques de biologie moleculaire, certaines etudes ont confirme que des groupes specifiques de micro-organismes peuvent favoriser le processus de biodegradation du PLA. Dans cet article de synthese, les progres recents dans la biodegradation du PLA (c'est-a-dire la degradation microbienne et enzymatique) et les facteurs cles affectant l'efficacite de la degradation ont ete examines. En outre, par rapport a la degradation complete par mineralisation, le recyclage valorisant est aussi propose comme meilleure strategie de recyclage pour eliminer les dechets plastiques. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles : PLA, biodegradation, micro-organismes, enzymes, recyclage valorisant., Introduction Owing to the increased global population and considerable resource consumption, significant increases in environmental pollution and waste accumulation have occurred. Plastics have ushered in a new era for daily [...]