Microplastics (MP) pervade the aquatic environment and pose a threat to human health by entering the body via ingestion and various other means. Lately, this contamination has ranked among the top ten pollutants, underscoring the critical need for a highly sensitive and precise method to detect microplastics. Regarding the identification of microplastics in water, Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared stand out for their superior sensitivity, accuracy, and speed relative to alternative detection techniques. The framework and fundamental concepts of these techniques were reviewed in this document, also research status of the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy for identifying microplastics in water were reviewed, finally the future developing was predicted.