High-speed optical communication systems, such as the Internet, super-computing, and data center optical interconnections, and applications such as LiDAR and display, require higher performance for semiconductor lasers, such as the single mode, single polarization, high speed, and high power. This article presents a review of the research progress of surface-emitting semiconductor lasers, mainly consisting of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) and photonic-crystal surface-emitting lasers. This includes designing surface grating, relief grating, and high-refractive-index contrast grating VCSELs to achieve the single mode and single polarization simultaneously. A zinc diffusion zone is introduced, a transverse coupling cavity is established, and a multi-hole-aperture oxide-confined VCSEL is constructed to achieve single-mode high-speed characteristics. A surface grating-loaded VCSEL for slow light is constructed, a zinc diffusion zone is introduced, and multi-junction or multi-aperture VCSELs are designed to achieve a single mode and high power. Photonic-crystal surface-emitting lasers are introduced to achieve a breakthrough performance of a single mode, high power, and minimal divergence angle. Finally, the development trends of surface-emitting lasers are discussed.