Aerosol has always been an important factor in environmental climate, air quality, and public health. Satellite remote sensing can realize the observation of the earth's large field of view and has become one of the mainstream methods of aerosol detection. In order to understand the development status and trend of spaceborne aerosol passive optical remote sensing instruments, this paper investigates the main technical parameters of spaceborne aerosol optical remote sensing instruments in different countries in history based on multi-spectral, multi-angle, and polarization observations. Firstly, the design parameters of several typical instruments in the world and their specific applications in aerosol parameter inversion are introduced in detail. Then, the advanced remote sensing instruments to be launched are analyzed. Finally, the development direction of spaceborne aerosol passive optical remote sensing instruments in the future is summarized. In addition, the paper points out that the integration of multi-spectral observation, multi-angle observation, medium spatial resolution, large field of view, and high-precision polarization measurement is the development trend of spaceborne aerosol optical remote sensing instruments in the future.