Abstract: Sodium ion batteries (SIBs) have attracted more and more attention because of their low cost and high safety. Due to the extremely high theoretical capacity, phosphorus-based material has been considered as one of the most promising anode materials for SIBs. However, phosphorus has shortcomings such as low conductivity and large volume expansion during sodiation-desodiation cycles, which significantly deteriorate its rate performance and cycle stability. Constructing metal phosphides by combining P with germanium, tin, copper or other metals can not only enhance their conductivity, but also significantly improve the reversibility and cycle performance of phosphorus-based anode materials. In this review, recent progress on metal phosphides and their composites with carbon nanotubes and graphene for SIBs anode materials were summarized. Furthermore, the current issues of metal phosphides anodes for SIBs were discussed, such as low practical capacity, poor cycle performance and so no. Meanwhile, various approaches and techniques to address these issues were proposed, including design and construction of composite materials, surface modification, regulation of size and morphology, advanced in-situ characterizations, etc. Finally, future perspectives of metal phosphides anode materials for SIBs were also presented.