Femtosecond laser direct-writing technology is being increasingly employed in the fabrication of integrated optoelectronic and optical sensor devices. This technology is popular due to its precision, efficiency, brief pulse duration, substantial peak power, and versatility in material processing. In recent years, the advancements in femtosecond laser direct writing, specifically in the context of optical waveguide amplifiers and lasers have garnered increasing research attention. This article mainly introduces the latest research progress of femtosecond laser direct writing optical waveguide amplifiers and lasers, including waveguide transmission and insertion losses, optical amplification gain characteristics, and waveguide laser output characteristics of Type-I, Type-II, ridge, and variable cross-section optical waveguide amplifiers and lasers. Finally, the paper concludes with a synthesis and analysis of the current technological progress, along with a prospective outlook on the future research, applications, and development trends within this domain.