Lithium niobate is considered as a model crystal of nonlinear optics, which combines piezoelectric, frequency doubling, electro-optic and photorefractive properties, and has shown great practical utility. Nearly a hundred years since the birth of lithium niobate, it has played an indispensable role in the fields of national security, medical detection, high-energy physics and industrial detection. With the development of micro-nano technology, the study of new optical effects in the microstructure of lithium niobate has become one of international frontier hotspots in recent years, and the related research plays an important role in promoting the generation of new micro-nano photonic devices. This paper summarizes the history of lithium niobate around its optical properties, and introduces its recent research progress particularly in the field of nano-optics, furthermore gives prospects for future developments.