Imprinted polymers are selective recognition elements that grasped the attention of scientists for decades. The type of imprinted polymers relies on the template for which this polymer is tailored. For example, molecularly-imprinted polymers (MIPs) are selective for molecular templates, while ion-imprinted polymers (IIPs) are prepared using ionic templates. Recently, biological templates (bacterial cells, human cells, viruses …etc.) have been patterned on polymers in a process known as surface imprinting to give rise to surface-imprinted polymers (SIPs). This type of polymers has so many applications in different aspects of science, especially analytical chemistry and biology. This review summarizes the recent advances in SIPs technology by shedding the light on their history, synthesis protocols and applications.