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Semi-transparent photovoltaics (STPVs) have attracted increasing attention owing to their ability to seamlessly integrate power generation with light transmission. They can complement traditional opaque photovoltaics, significantly broadening their potential applications. Although STPVs have achieved great progress driven by advances in material engineering and device engineering, they still encounter substantial challenges for real-world deployment. This review summarizes the recent progress in STPV technologies, highlights the challenges they face in practical applications, and provides a detailed analysis of the factors affecting their performance improvements. We explore how innovations in active layer manipulation, transparent electrode design, interfacial engineering, optical structures and tandem architectures contribute to enhancing STPV performance. Furthermore, we summarize the emerging applications of STPVs in various fields, such as building integrated photovoltaics, agricultural photovoltaics, bioelectronics, wearable electronics and optical wireless communication. Overall, this review offers valuable insights into materials science, physics and optoelectronics.