The geographical origin traceability of food, an important part of traceability system, is effective in protecting the quality and safety of foodstuffs.Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR), which is a powerful technique for geographical origin traceability, has attracted extensive attention by scientists due to its speediness, non-pollution and simple operation.This paper presents the advantages and disadvantages of techniques that have been used for food geographical origin traceability.The basic principles of NIR and its applications in different food geographical origin traceability are presented too.Furthermore, problems in applications are analyzed and the future development trends are discussed.