Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is an important atmospheric pollutant that seriously threats human health and ecosystems. Therefore, the detection of the spatial distribution of NO2 concentration is of great significance for atmospheric environmental monitoring and management. As an active optical remote sensing detection technology, differential absorption lidar (DIAL) technology can realize the detection of horizontal and vertical spatial distribution for atmospheric trace gases and the monitoring of emissions from elevated sources, which has great application value in the field of atmospheric environmental monitoring. DIAL technology uses a tunable laser to alternately emit two laser beams with similar wavelengths into the atmosphere. The wavelength of one laser beam is on the absorption peak of the gas to be measured (λon), and the other deviates from the absorption peak of the gas (λoff). According to the different absorption at the two wavelengths, the concentration of thetarget gas can be evaluated from the ratio of the atmospheric backscatter signals at λon and λoff. The basic principle and measurement error of NO2-DIAL technology are introduced in detail, the recent advancement of NO2-DIAL technology is systematically reviewed. And finally, the research on NO2-DIAL technology is summarized and prospected.