Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy(LIBS) has been widely used in different fields as an effective analysis technique. Its application in underwater research is a new hot spot recently and a lot of works have been reported continuously. An overview of the recent research progress for LIBS in underwater detection is given in this work, including the simulation experiments in laboratory, the field experiments in sea trial, the fundamental research, and the technique development. As an example, the deep sea in situ LIBS system (LIBSea) is shown in detail, giving the typical results in ocean detection. Finally, the application of LIBS in ocean detection in the near future is prospected.