Lithium niobate(LiNbO3, LN) has a long history and variety of physical effects which can be used to make acoustic filters, resonators, delay lines, electro-optical modulators, electro-optical Q switches and phase modulator devices. It has been widely used in electronic technology, optical communication technology, laser technology, etc. Furthermore, with the rapid development of the fifth-generation wireless communication technology, micro-nano photonics, integrated photonics and quantum optics, LN crystal has important application prospects. In this paper, the basic properties, preparation and application of LN are summarized, and the future application is also analyzed.