Fiber optic sensors represent an innovative technology for automated measurement of cable forces which are critical in construction and operation of many civil engineering structures. This paper reviews the fiber optic sensors that have. Fiber optic sensors represent an innovative technology for automated measurement of cable forces which are critical in construction and operation of many civil engineering structures. This paper reviews the fiber optic sensors that have been developed and applied to measure cable forces, including fiber Bragg grating, interferometer, and fully dist. ••Measurement of cable forces by using point and distributed fiber optic sensors is reviewed.••Fiber optic sensors measure the cable force along cable length in construction and operation.••Different types of fiber optic sensors and deployment methods are compared and discussed.••Technology. Cable forceCable-stayed bridgeFiber optic sensorPrestress lossSensor deploymentSuspension bridgeCables have been fabricated using steel or fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) and widely used to provide tension resistance in various engineering structures, such as bridges and buildings. Fig. 1 shows two representative applications of cables in bridges. First, cables are widely used as the main cables and suspenders in suspension bridges and cable-stayed bridges [,, ], as depicted in Fig. 1(a). Second, cables are used as the prestressing tendons in prestressed concrete, as depicted in Fig. 1(b). In both use cases, the cables are subjected to large tensile forces. Consequently, failure of the cable may lead to catastrophic consequences of the structures. For example, rupture of the cable in an arch bridge led to progressive collapse of the bridge. Due to the significance of cabl. 2.1. Optical fibersThe sensing components of fiber optic sensors are fabricated using optical fibers. According to the materials for light wave transmission, optical fibers can be categorized into high-purity fused silica (glass) fibers, polymer fibers, and sapphire fibers [,, ]. All the three types of optical fibers have been used to design different types of fiber optic sensors. In general, the fused silica fibers are most widely used in communication and sensor technologies, because they are cost-effective and have low attenuation of the light signals, compared with the polymer fibers and sapphire fibers. Therefore, fused silica fibers are suitable for long-distance measurement. In some particular high-temperature applications [25,26], sapphir.