Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a novel type of inorganic-organic hybrid material, which is composed of metal ions or metal clusters and organic bridging ligands through coordination. The combination of inorganic and organic components in the MOFs can possess the characteristics and performances of inorganic and organic elements simultaneously, and realize the cooperative optimization. Furthermore, the ordered micro-pores can be used to encapsulate the guest molecules within the MOFs to generate novel photonic functions. Therefore, the design and construction of MOFs for photonics applications become popular. This paper summarized the latest results obtained from a research project 'Investigation of photonic functions based on ordered microporous materials' supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, i.e., the design and controllable preparation methods of metal-organic frameworks, and the encapsulation of organic dyes and perovskite quantum dots in ordered microporous of the MOFs. In addition, future development and application prospects of the MOFs were also discussed.