Measuring multiphase flow parameters and the understanding of multiphase flow mechanisms are of great importance value for the design, operation, and optimization of industrial process devices. Due to the inherent multiscale nature of multiphase flow, its flow field often has great complexity, which makes our understanding of its flow process relatively limited. There are still many key issues that need to be explored in the mechanism of multiphase flow. Positron emission particle tracing (PEPT) is a new undisturbed and non-destructive imaging method for complex multiphase flows in industrial processes. γ photon detection is used to perform 3D dynamic imaging of radioactive labeled tracer particles. Due to γ photons have high penetration and are not affected by electromagnetic fields, making PEPT a unique advantage in detecting non-transparent and complex industrial multiphase flows. Currently, it is mainly used for measuring multiphase flow phenomena and extracting system physical parameters in industrial fields such as chemical, food, and pharmaceutical industries. However, the difficulties in preparing miniaturized tracer particles and the poor localization effect of multiple tracer particles at the same time seriously hinder the further application and promotion of PEPT technology. In this work, basic principles of PEPT technology are firstly briefly introduced, then the key technologies and research progress of PEPT are discussed from the aspects of tracer particles, algorithms, hardware systems and data processing in applications. The existing problems and potential development directions are pointed out. Finally, the development and application of PEPT is summarized and prospected.