Continuous-wave green laser has been widely applied in various fields like optical data storage, color display, fluorescent diagnostic and optical communication. Up-conversion is one of the effective ways to achieve the continuous-wave green laser, which has become a hot research field of laser technology. Laser diode (LD)- pumped Er³⁺-doped material has the merits of good stability, long fluorescent lifetime and less dependence on the matrix material, which is suitable for obtaining a continuous-wave green laser output. The researches of the Er³⁺- doped green laser around the world are summarized and the dependence of up-conversion luminescence of rare earth ions on matrix material is discussed. Moreover, make an outlook for the research and application of the rare earth ion in terms of green up-conversion luminescence.