As coal power is the main power source of China and one of the main sources of carbon emissions, the rapid detection of coal quality is conducive to improve the safe, low-carbon and economic operation level for coal-fired power units and promoting the intelligent development of power plants. Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is a rising rapid measurement technology. Because of its advantages such as no or little sample pretreatment, multi-element simultaneous analysis and online analysis, LIBS has a good application prospect in the field of rapid analysis of coal quality. This paper summarizes the basic research and application development results of the author’s team in the field of LIBS coal quality detection in recent years, with focus on the main problems encountered in LIBS coal detection and their solutions, and demonstrates the application potential of LIBS in the rapid detection of coal quality.