As a matter of fact, grating spectrometer has been widely used in various applications in recent years on account of its simple structure and high accuracy. On this basis, this study introduces the research history and development status of grating spectrometer in the last hundred years. To optimize the resolution of the grating spectrometer, the design of the instrument, the selection of optical elements, the stability of the light source and the performance of the detector should be considered comprehensively. The limit resolution in the visible range is affected by the number of lines of the grating and the quality of the optical element. In the UV range its resolution depends on the grating parameters and instrument design. The limiting resolution in the infrared range is limited by the wavelength range and the quality of the optical element. In addition, this research also involves the realization and progress of some related advanced technologies. Some hypotheses for improving the resolution of the grating spectrometer are also presented and proposed.