With the growing demands of big data technologies, there is an increasing need for improved data transmission speed, bandwidth, and energy efficiency. Photons, as a medium for information transmission, possess unique advantages, such as high bandwidth, rapid transmission speeds, low power consumption, and compatibility with CMOS technology. Micro-transfer printing has become a pivotal technique for wafer-scale heterogeneous integration, enabling the co-integration of various materials or devices detached from their substrates and transferred onto silicon-based optoelectronic target substrates. This technology offers remarkable versatility and integration potential. This paper delves into recent developments in micro-transfer printing (MTP), exploring its underlying mechanisms, transfer methodologies, and applications. Additionally, it evaluates yield rates, process optimization, and equipment reliability, providing insights into the commercial viability of this technology. This review discusses various auxiliary methods used in micro-transfer printing. During device transfer from a stamp onto a target substrate, the adhesion force of the stamp must be less than the interaction force between the devices and the substrate. Adhesives are commonly used to strengthen the interaction force between the devices and the substrates. The performance of integrated devices is heavily influenced by the interface contact between metal electrodes and materials. Traditional metal deposition processes often introduce defects, strain, and metal diffusion, leading to high resistance at the contact interface. Two-dimensional materials, which lack surface dangling bonds, help mitigate these issues during the transfer process. In laser-assisted non-contact transfer, the laser absorption layer absorbs energy, heating the water in the hydrogel and inducing a localized liquid-to-vapor phase transition. This phase transition causes the adhesive layer's surface to bulge, effectively eliminating interfacial adhesion forces. In recent years, micro-transfer printing has shown significant advantages in heterogeneous integration, allowing for the high-density integration of diverse photonic components, including C-band tunable lasers on SOI and SiN platforms, InGaAsP-based photodetectors, and electro-optical modulators such as thin-film lithium niobate devices. The paper also explores the future commercialization prospects of micro-transfer printing technology. This work provides a thorough review of heterogeneous integration techniques based on micro-transfer printing. MTP technology is crucial for the fabrication of high-performance heterogeneous photonic integrated circuits. However, its commercialization in the photonics field faces several challenges. Achieving large-scale production requires addressing key factors such as batch production yield, which depends on the yield of devices from the source wafer, the release process, the pickup process, and the printing process itself. Process optimization and device performance are critical areas that need improvement. For instance, capillary forces can cause materials to collapse or fracture, but these issues can be mitigated through vapor-phase etching processes. Additionally, the strength and number of tethers supporting the devices play a vital role in the transfer process, necessitating the design of optimized tethers to improve transfer efficiency. The reliability of transfer printing equipment is another critical consideration. As micro-transfer printing technology matures, this heterogeneous integration method has become essential for fabricating high-performance photonic integrated circuits, and overcoming these challenges will be key to its widespread commercialization.