Direction finding is a traditional technique that was initially used in radio surveillance. Since its inception, antenna-based direction finding technology has become the core technology in various fields, such as radar(to find the direction of the target) and mobile communication(where MIMO-based multi-antennas are used). Moreover, use of the direction finding technology in the field of IoT, such as in Bluetooth, is increasing. Thus, the importance of direction finding technology is growing in various fields. However, it continues to be treated as a sub-technology of radio surveillance, radar, and wireless communication. The aim of this paper is to help readers systematically understand direction finding technology. Accordingly, a systematic classification and analysis of each characteristic of direction finding technology, along with recent research and development trends for it, are discussed in the paper.