Domain knowledge acquisition, presentation and maintenance play an important role in software development. Frame-based knowledge bases are used to support the decision-making process. We believe that a use of a knowledge base that supports model transformations is not less important. To clarify the current state of a use of frame systems we have investigated recent research in the field to find out about techniques used for knowledge acquisition, frame elements, implementation technologies, existing limitations in implementation and integration with other knowledge representation formats. The overview showed that knowledge acquisition often is manual, procedural knowledge in frames can be separated, web-enabled knowledge bases are the trend, and the frame systems can be used in hybrid knowledge bases. However, some limitations in performance and integration with other knowledge representation systems exist due to support of different world paradigms. The obtained results show that despite existing limitations, frame-based knowledge systems still are in use and researchers found ways how to adapt them to the modern requirements.