The miniaturization of in situ spectroscopic tools has been recognized as a forefront instrumental development for the characterization of heterogeneous catalysts. With the multitude of micro-spectroscopic methods available fundamental insight into the structure-function relationships of catalytic processes can be obtained. Among these techniques vibrational spectroscopy is one of the most versatile methods and capable to shed insight into the molecular structure of reaction intermediates and products, the chemical state of catalyst materials during reaction as well as the nature of interactions between reactants/intermediates/products and the catalyst surface. In this tutorial review we discuss the recent developments in the field of infrared (IR) and Raman micro-spectroscopy and illustrate their potential. Showcase examples include (1) chemical imaging of spatial heterogeneities during catalyst preparation, (2) high-throughput catalyst screening, (3) transport and adsorption phenomena within catalytic solids and (4) reactivity studies of porous oxides, such as zeolites. Finally, new in situ spectroscopy tools based on vibrational spectroscopy and their potential in the catalysis domain are discussed.