Meta-analysis, as an essential research tool, plays an indispensable role in scientific research and has been widely applied in various scientific fields such as medicine, management, education, and psychology. With the continuous development of statistical techniques, traditional meta-analysis has gradually derived a large number of advanced research methods. To help researchers and practitioners promptly capture and comprehend the current state of meta-analysis, this paper aims to comprehensively explore the principles, applications, and latest developments of meta-analysis. First, the paper extensively examines the fundamental principles, historical development, operational procedures, and comparative advantages of traditional meta-analysis. Secondly, this article deeply discusses the high-order research methods derived from traditional meta-analysis, including Multilevel meta-analysis, meta-analytic structural equation modeling, second-order meta-analysis, Causal based meta-analysis and replication research. Finally, the paper discusses the significance and limitations of meta-analysis in scientific research. In sum, this article provides researchers with a comprehensive overview of the meta-analysis, helps researchers identify its development trends and potential problems, and further aims at improving the method to adapt to changing research needs.