The insulation problem is one of the main causes of power equipment failures and accidents. The insulation status of power equipment can be judged in advance through partial discharge（PD） monitoring. At present

there are a variety of detection methods for PD detection

and the optical fiber Fabry-Perot（F-P） ultrasonic sensor has the advantages of strong anti-electromagnetic interference

good insulation

and high sensitivity. It has been favored by many researchers for ultrasonic detection. We give an outline of several commonly used PD detection methods

introduce the principle of optical fiber F-P cavity interference and the working mechanism of optical fiber F-P ultrasonic sensors

and focus on the performance parameters and fabrication manners of the four extrinsic fiber F-P ultrasonic sensors constructed by the silver diaphragm

polymer diaphragm

graphene diaphragm and silicon diaphragm

respectively. Moreover

we summarize the advantages of fiber F-P ultrasonic sensor for imitative PD detection and location in detail. In the end

we introduce the application of micro-electro-mechanical systems（MEMS） technology in fiber F-P ultrasonic sensors

and present the conclusions and prospects of the extrinsic fiber F-P ultrasonic sensors based on MEMS technology in PD application prospect.