As a systematic diagnosis model, the dependency matrix describes the relationship between failure mode and test, and is widely utilized in the industry. In engineering, the dependency matrix is transformed or reshaped for different usages, and the related dependency matrix-based methods are various and complicated. However, the related approaches are not summarized systematically. Here, we provide a concise and comprehensive review of the related approaches, which are concluded into three categories: dependency matrix generation, test selection, and fault diagnosis. For each part, the conventional and the latest methods are introduced. This review is dedicated to introducing the current status of the dependency matrix-based method in fault diagnosis. We hope the review can provide an effective direction to overcome the challenges that the current methods face.