Phase measuring deflectometry (PMD) is a superior technique to obtain three-dimensional (3D) shape information of specular surfaces because of its advantages of large dynamic range, noncontact operation, full-field measurement, fast acquisition, high precision, and automatic data processing. We review the recent advances on PMD. The basic principle of PMD is introduced following several PMD methods based on fringe reflection. First, a direct PMD (DPMD) method is reviewed for measuring 3D shape of specular objects having discontinuous surfaces. The DPMD method builds the direct relationship between phase and depth data, without gradient integration procedure. Second, an infrared PMD (IR-PMD) method is reviewed to measure specular objects. Because IR light is used as a light source, the IR-PMD method is insensitive to the effect of ambient light on the measured results and has high measurement accuracy. Third, a proposed method is reviewed to measure the 3D shape of partial reflective objects having discontinuous surfaces by combining fringe projection profilometry and DPMD. Then, the effects of error sources that mainly include phase error and geometric calibration error on the measurement results are analyzed, and the performance of the 3D shape measurement system is also evaluated. Finally, the future research directions of PMD are discussed.