Millisecond and nanosecond lasers have become the preferred processing tools for alumina and aluminum nitride ceramics owing to the lasers' unique advantages of high reliability, high efficiency, low cost, and ability to process hard, brittle, and difficult-to-machine materials. These lasers play an irreplaceable role in the industrialized processing of group holes on ceramic substrate surfaces. This paper introduces the removal mechanisms with respect to laser processing ceramic materials of electronic substrates, including material ablation threshold, photothermal effect, and photochemical effect. The effects of the lasers' processing parameters and ambient environments on the hole size of ceramic materials, such as diameter, depth, and taper, are discussed. Current problems in the industrial application of laser hole drilling to ceramic substrates are summarized, and future development trends are presented.