Abstract: Polymer fiber gratings have many advantages, such as small size, light weight, softness and low cost. Due to the characteristics of polymer itself, it also has high sensitivity, wide response range and good biocompatibility. Firstly, the photosensitivity mechanism of polymer optical fiber was studied, and the etched light source and method for preparing polymer fiber gratings were summarized. Secondly, according to the composition material of polymer optical fiber, the progress in preparation and the performance of polymer fiber gratings, including polymethyl methacrylate, TOPAS, CYTOP and poly-carbonate were overviewed. At present, the study on polymethyl methacrylate polymer fiber gratings is dominant. Polymer fiber gratings based on new materials have been paid more and more attention due to their unique advantages.