Hyperspectral imaging technology originated from remote sensing, has the unique advantage of spectral integration. It is increasingly widely used in agriculture and forestry, geology and mining, anti-counterfeiting and environmental protection. As the most common and basic function of hyperspectral technology, target classification plays a vital role in the application of hyperspectral fields. In this paper, the development status of hyperspectral target classification technology is reviewed, the structural characteristics of hyperspectral data are analyzed, the general process of hyperspectral target classification is summarized, and the mainstream methods and basic principles of data reading, image preprocessing and target classification are described in detail. Combined with the typical cases in recent years, the process of hyperspectral target classification is analyzed, and the development trend is analyzed and prospected.