Brick and stone are widely used as building material in the world. Masonry structure composed of brick, stone and mortar has low tensile and shear strength, insufficient seismic resistance, and is prone to damage or even collapse under earthquake action. Therefore, strengthening is needed to improve the mechanical properties of masonry structure. Due to high tensile strength, light weight, easy installation and corrosion resistance, fiber reinforced polymer(FRP) has been widely used to strengthen the masonry structure. Near-surface mounted FRP(NSM-FRP) has more advantages in strengthening historic masonry buildings because it has little influence on the weight and appearance of the structures. In this paper, the research progress of masonry structures strengthened with NSM-FRP is summarized, and the development of masonry structures strengthened with NSM-FRP is prospected.