In order to solve the problems of short detection distance, difficulty in acquiring large field of view and high-resolution real-time imaging, and poor quality of reconstructed images, which are caused by the limited information acquisition methods and insufficient interpretation capabilities of traditional imaging technology with object-image conjugation as the core, computational imaging technology with core information-driven came into being, and it has shown great potential in photoelectric detection. In this paper, the concept and connotation of computational imaging are illustrated from the beginning of the bottleneck problem in traditional imaging. And then the computational media, computational optical systems and computing processing in the imaging link are deeply analyzed. Meanwhile, the role, advantages and disadvantages of computational imaging in imaging and detection are summarized, and the future development in photoelectric detection field is prospected.