Mid infrared lasers at the wavelength range of 2-5 μm have special and important applications in national defense, medical treatment, communication and so on. The gain media for direct generation of mid infrared lasers mainly include gas laser medium, semiconductor, rare earth ions or transition metal ions doped compounds. In this paper, the spectral properties of luminescent ions (including rare earth ions such as Tm3+, Ho3+, Er3+ and transition metal ions such as Cr2+, Fe2+) used in the mid infrared region are introduced firstly. Then, the fabrication and laser performance of oxides (including garnet and sesquioxide) ceramics and polycrystalline II-VI compounds (mainly ZnS/ZnSe) are mainly introduced. Finally, the problems of the two kinds of mid infrared laser ceramics are analyzed, and then their development direction is also prospected.