Based on the interaction between laser photons and atmosphere, light detection and range (lidar) can measure the atmospheric parameters by active remote sensing, so it plays an increasingly important role in the fields of atmospheric science research, environmental monitoring, weather forecasting and so on. The atmospheric density decreases exponentially with altitude, and the atmospheric density at high altitude is far lower than that at low altitude.Subject to that, the detection for upper atmosphere is of difficulty and the detection data is insufficient. With the development of lidar technology in recent years, the detection ability of lidar to measure air density, temperature, wind field and other parameters of upper atmosphere has been gradually improved, and it has been applied to the development of mesospheric model and near space environment monitoring. The detection mechanism of lidar for upper atmosphere, as well as the detection capability and station construction of lidar in China is introduced systematically, and the development trend of lidar is also briefly prospected.