Laser shock processing (LSP) is a new and efficient type of laser surface treatment technologies. Compared with the traditional surface modification technologies, laser shock processing can form a deeper re-sidual stress layer to the material and make surface grain refinement or even appear nano-crystalline, mean-while significantly improving the fatigue life of the material. When the high-energy laser irradiates at the con-finement layer (black paint, black tape or aluminum foil), the material of the confinement layer is instantaneously melted and gasified to produce a high-temperature and high-pressure plasma. The plasma shock wave is a detonation wave that can be used to calculate the peak pressure of the shock wave by the C-J model. The plas-ma propagates to the interior of the material under the constraint of the confinement layer (water or optical glass). The pressure of the shock wave far exceeds the elastic yield limit of the material. Therefore, the material under-goes elastic-plastic deformation and eventually forms a stable residual stress field and a slight plastic defor-mation. The development of the technology research process is also introduced. On this basis, the development direction of the technology is forecasted. Key