Following a brief introduction of the principle of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), the recent technical development and its application in liquid samples are reviewed. The merits and drawbacks of different forms of samples, such as liquid bulk, liquid surface, liquid jets, aerosols and solidifying solvent, are compared. Much effort in this technique development is devoted to the improvement of the limit of detection (LOD) of liquid elements. Due to its advantages such as online and rapid detection, the LIBS technique of liquid is supposed to have great potential of applications in many areas, such as environment detection, waste water treatment, biological medicine, industrial control, etc.