As the key component of the support structure of the onshore wind turbine, the service quality of the tower directly affects the operation safety of the wind turbine. Monitoring tower vibration, evaluating service quality and early warning of damage are important means to improve the operation safety of wind turbine. Firstly, the type of tower, the load and dynamics of tower are briefly introduced. Secondly, the methods and characteristics of tower contact and noncontact vibration monitoring are summarized, different monitoring methods were compared, and the limitations of existing tower vibration monitoring schemes are put forward. Finally, the research status and existing difficulties of tower vibration monitoring data in state identification, fault diagnosis and fault warning are analyzed, and the future development trend of tower vibration monitoring is forecasted.