Improving the performance of the photoelectric-detectors, as a kind of the important optoelectronic devices, is a key research topic. In recent years, using nanostructure has resolved the bottleneck in the development of traditional infrared photoelectric-detectors. Metal nanoparticle, patterned-graphene with nanostructure, and resonators have been extensively used to stimulate the surface plasmon, promoting the interaction between light and matter to obtain a relatively high-performance photodetector. Herein, graphene photodetectors based on surface plasmons are mainly introduced, which have been developed from the aspects of patterned-graphene nanostructure, metal nanoparticle, quantum dots, and periodic nanostructure.