Supercritical fluids have unique properties because they offer the possibility of being manipulated, such as density, viscosity, diffusivity or surface area, through pressure and temperature control. This article provides a general and complete description of the current state of knowledge of the application of supercritical carbon dioxide and its contribution to processes within the food industry. The foundation and perspectives in the application of four techniques in which supercritical fluids are used, such as extraction, impregnation, microencapsulation, and pasteurization in food preservation processes compared to traditional processes, are reviewed and analyzed. In this review it was possible to denote that there are advantages when using supercritical carbon dioxide technology in the various processes that have its application within the food industry such as reduction in component extraction time, increase in the performance of activities antioxidants in the product, among others. However, a significant study of this type of technologies is still required since a great barrier that persists is the high operating cost when working on a larger scale.