Spectral detection technology plays important roles in intelligent identification of next-generation smart equipment, such as visual inspection, physico-chemical analysis, and process control, which can be widely used in the fields of food safety, medical diagnosis, environmental monitoring, anti-counterfeiting identification, plant disease suppression, and military reconnaissance and early warning. Traditional spectral detection systems are limited by dispersion elements, which suffer from large volume, high cost, and poor customization capability. Fabry-Perot (FP) filtering chips based on micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) technology provide a new solution for the miniaturized, low-cost, and customizable spectral detection systems. In recent three decades, considerable progresses have been achieved in the area of practical MEMS-FP filtering chips, which have been widely applied to miniaturized spectral detection systems. However, many problems need to be solved in the aspects of chip manufacturing, performance improvement, and system integration. In this paper, the principle and performance, device classification, and application progresses of MEMS-FP filtering chips are reviewed. And also, the existing problems and development trends in the future are discussed.