Soil in-situ penetration technology is an important method for obtaining its physical and mechanical parameters with the advantages of accuracy， rapidity， and continuity. It has a wide range of applications in marine geotechnical and planetary surface geological investigation， and off-road mobility assessment of military vehicles. In this study， the development， instrumentation， and basic principles of soil in-situ penetration technology have been systematically summarized， and engineering applications in the civil and defense fields are introduced. Based on the typical in-situ penetration techniques of cone penetration test and free fall penetrometer， three aspects of the progress of the penetration mechanism in theoretical analysis， numerical simulation， and experimental methods were concluded. Finally， the soil in-situ penetration technology was prospected， providing a theoretical basis and an engineering reference for future development.