The radio frequency (RF) heating is a novel technology in food industry which has the advantages of fast and volumetric heating. The potential application of the radio frequency technology has been gradually developed in many fields including food drying, sterilization/pasteurization, dis-infestation, thawing and etc. However, there are still problems like non-uniform heating problem needs further research. It was reviewed the fundamentals, applications, and mathematical modeling techniques of radio frequency heating processes in this study, and the future research needs of it were also prospected.