The emerging sample pretreatment technique of magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) has drawn the attention of researchers owing to its advantages of less reagent consumption, fast separation/enrichment process, high adsorption capacity, and simple operation. This paper presents a review of synthesis techniques, classification, and analysis procedures for MSPE in the detection of heavy metals in food. Magnetic adsorbents derived from silica, metal oxides, carbon, polymers, etc., are applied for the detection of heavy metals in food. Then, the recent development of the technology of MSPE for the analysis of heavy metal extraction in food is summarized in detail. Finally, the future outlook for the improvement of MSPE is also discussed.