Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS)has revolutionized the positioning,navigation and timing service for modern social activities. The L-band signals(1160～1610 MHz)emitted from GNSS satellites are available all over the world and can be used to retrieve the physical parameters related to atmosphere,ocean and land surface with high temporal and spatial resolutions. Based on signal types,the concepts of GNSS remote sensing include two categories,i.e. GNSS refractometry and GNSS reflectometry(GNSS-R). These concepts can also be classified into three categories:ground-based GNSS remote sensing,airborne GNSS remote sensing and spaceborne GNSS remote sensing based on different platforms. As the third generation of China Beidou GNSS system started to provide full service in summer of the year 2020,the GNSS users around the world may have more opportunities as well as face more challenges on further exploiting the multi-GNSS(GPS,BDS,GLONASS and Galileo)signals in civil service. In this study we make a comprehensive review of ground-based GNSS remote sensing for meteorological applications including weather nowcasting,numerical weather prediction,climate change,space weather monitoring and validations of satellite and radiosonde observations during recent two decades.