A well-organized literature review (LR) is the basis for the originality of empirical papers. However, there are some issues in literature reviews in existing studies. To address these issues, this paper, taking two empirical studies in Chinese language assessment for examples, constructs a functional framework for LR, including "three phases and two levels". The three phases consist of "integration, evaluation and questioning" in LR writing, while the two levels refer to the "fundamental and innovational" levels. The three phases and two levels integrate to form a dynamic framework of LR with multiple functions. The strategies to realize those functions are expounded. This paper aims to provide researchers with insightful ideas for LR writing.