Active laser detection based on cat-eye effect is a new type of technique used in laser weapons. The key technology is how to describe the reflection characteristics of cat-eye effect of optical targets exactly. Several vehicle-borne, portable, ship-borne and air-borne laser weapons using cat-eye effect are introduced. Representative research methods and results are reviewed. Finally, the existent problems of cat-eye effect used in active laser detection technique are presented, and the development prospects are also discussed including the multi-system detection, the optical target parameters acquiring technique based on diffraction and interference characteristics of cat-eye effect, the closed-loop active tracking system based on the modulation effect of cat-eye system on the detection laser, and the effect of stochastic atmosphere on cat-eye effect reflected light.