Abstract:[Background] Composting is an effective way of treating agricultural waste, and improving the phosphorus conversion efficiency during the composting process is receiving increasing attention. [Objective] To study the effect of corn steep liquor addition on the transformation of phosphorus fractions and microbial community in the composting process of spent mushroom substrate. [Methods] Two treatments of CK (100% spent mushroom substrate) and CP (spent mushroom substrate added with 0.5% corn steep liquor) were designed for aerobic composting for 36 d. The Hedley method was used for phosphorus fractionation. High-throughput sequencing was performed to reveal the microbial community composition, and the data were analyzed by bioinformatics tools. [Results] The addition of corn steep liquor significantly increased the temperature of the heap, prolonged the thermophilic phase, promoted the decomposition of organic matter, and improved the nutrient status of the heap by increasing active phosphorus content and promoting phosphorus activation and accumulation. The addition of corn steep liquor increased the diversity and richness of bacteria and fungi. It significantly increased the relative abundance of Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Mycothermus, and Myceliophthora. The addition of corn steep liquor reduced the complexity of the microbial network and promoted the cooperation and symbiosis among microorganisms. In addition, it changed the correlations between phosphorus fractions and some microbial genera. Acinetobacter and Sphingobacterium in the CP treatment greatly promoted phosphorus activation and accumulation. In the CK treatment, Agaricus promoted phosphorus activation, and the rest fungal genera promoted phosphorus accumulation. More fungi were positively correlated with active phosphorus after the addition of corn steep liquor. [Conclusion] The addition of corn steep liquor affected the microbial community structure and phosphorus transformation by changing the trophic modes and physicochemical indexes during the composting process. This study provides a reference for improving the availability of compost phosphorus.