With the rise and widespread applications of three-dimensional (3D) heterogeneous integration technology, inductive voltage regulators are becoming increasingly important for mobile terminals and high-computing-power devices, while also offering significant development opportunities for high-frequency soft magnetic films. According to the requirements of on-chip power inductors, we first review the advantages and limitations of three types of magnetic core films: permalloy, Co-based amorphous metal films, and FeCo-based nanogranular composite films, with a focus on the technical requirements and challenges of several μm-thick laminated magnetic core films. Secondly, almost all on-chip inductors are hard-axis excited, which means that the magnetic field of inductors should be parallel to the hard axis of the magnetic core. We thus compare the characteristics of two methods of preparing large-area films, i.e. applying an in-situ magnetic field and oblique sputtering, both of which can effectively induce in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy (IPUMA). Their influences on the static and high-frequency soft magnetic properties are also compared. The influences of film patterning on the domain structures and high-frequency magnetic losses of magnetic cores, as well as corresponding countermeasures, are also briefly analyzed. Furthermore, the temperature stability of magnetic permeability and anisotropy of magnetic core films is discussed from the perspectives of process compatibility and long-term reliability. Although the Curie temperatures and crystallization temperatures of the three types of magnetic core films are relatively high, the upper limits of their actual process temperatures are affected by the thermal effects on the alignment of magnetic atomic pairs, microstructural defects, and grain size. Finally, the current bottlenecks in testing high-frequency and large-signal magnetic losses of magnetic core films are discussed, and potential technical approaches to achieving magnetic core films that meet the future demands of on-chip power inductors for higher saturation current and lower magnetic losses are outlined.