When laser propagates in the atmosphere, the refractive index fluctuation caused by atmospheric turbulence will lead to optical turbulence effects such as wavefront aberration, beam wander, and scintillation, which severely restrict the development of remote sensing imaging systems and laser communication. Because of the influence of atmospheric optical turbulence on many fields, it′s significant to measure optical turbulence profile. To obtainthe temporal and spatial distribution of optical turbulence and evaluate the impact of optical turbulence on optical imaging and laser transmission systems require accurate measurement of optical turbulence. From the perspective of optical turbulence characteristic parameters, the current retrieval methods and research progresses of measuring atmospheric turbulence profile distribution at home and abroad are introduced, and the measurement principles, advantages and disadvantages of the different technologies are summarized. Finally, the new lidar system, named differential wavefront lidar, is presented, and its measurement principle is also introduced. The technology has the advantages of high spatial resolution and no focal shift. The preliminary simulation results of echo signal show that this technology can effectively measure the atmospheric optical turbulence profile.