The optical 3D measuring method based on fringe projection is widely used in various industries such as medical diagnosis and industrial testing. Computer-generated Moiré profilometry plays an important role in fringe projection profilometry due to its high accuracy, real-time measurement ability, and insensitivity to object surface reflectivity and so on. In recent years, many derivative methods based on computer-generated Moiré profilometry have been proposed, which not only achieve further improvements in both measuring accuracy and measuring speed, but also enhance the adaptability of measuring different types of objects. In this paper, the basic theory and derived methods of computer-generated Moiré profilometry are summarized, and their characteristics are analyzed. The development trends of computer generated Moiré profilometry have been clarified.