With the development of space technology, spaceborne hyperspectral imaging technology is becoming mature and widely used. In this paper, the basic concepts and characteristics of hyperspectral imaging are expounded firstly. Then the development status of spaceborne hyperspectral imaging in the past 20 years is systematically introduced from domestic and foreign perspectives. The main performance index and related remote sensing applications are analyzed as well. Finally, the military applications of spaceborne hyperspectral technology in battlefield environment reconnaissance, marine military action monitoring, battlefield meteorological environment assessment and missile early warning detection are analyzed and summarized, and briefly explained by examples.