Quantum well infrared photodetectors (QWIPs) has been considered as another excellent candidate in long-wavelength and very-long-wavelength infrared detection. It shows more distinctive advantages than the traditional HgCdTe technology in long-wave infrared detection, multi-color detection and focal plane technology area. Keep research on QWIPs will greatly promote the development of our country's infrared detector technology. The outstanding advantages of QWIPs are its good maturity of III–V compound growth and processing techniques. However, due to the low quantum efficiency and the forbiddance of directly normal incident radiation absorption for n-type QW, it is necessary to design and prepare various gratings or microcavity structures for optical coupling and local electromagnetic field enhancement for different detection wavelengths. How to more effectively improve the optical coupling efficiency of QWIPs, reduce dark current, and increase the operating temperature of the device are still the hotspots of current research. The new type of QWIPs with local electromagnetic field enhancement in the past 5 years was emphatically introduced and summarizesd, focusing on the optical coupling, dark current and working temperature. Finally, the development of QWIPs with local electromagnetic field enhancement were given for future work.