1972年，美国试制成功铁谱仪应用于监测铁路内燃机车润滑油衰变及柴油机故障预测的报告面世，该报告成为铁谱分析的诞生标志。近几年来研究和实践的结果更进一步表明：铁谱分析方法比其它诊断方法（如振动法、性能参数法等）能更加早期地预报机器的异常状态，证明了这种方法在应用上的优越性。
In 1972, a successful ferrography instrument was developed in the United States to monitor the deterioration of lubricating oil in railway locomotives and predict the failure of diesel engines. The report became the birth symbol of Ferrography analysis. The results of research and practice in recent years further show that the ferrography analysis method can predict the abnormal state of machine more early than other diagnostic methods such as vibration method and performance parameter method, which proves the superiority of this method in application.
因此尽管这种方法出现较晚，但发展非常迅速。该技术不仅仅应用于内燃机车的发动机的故障预测，也应用于众多工业设备的故障预测和润滑油的研发及售后服务中，目前已成为了机械故障诊断技术中举足轻重的方法。
So although this method appeared late, it developed very rapidly. This technology is not only applied to engine fault prediction of diesel locomotives, but also to fault prediction of many industrial equipment, research and development of lubricants and after-sales service. It has become an important method in mechanical fault diagnosis technology.