In the past few years, the photorefractive effect has been observed in polymeric materials. Compared to inorganic materials, polymeric materials have larger electro—optical response, lower dielectric constant, and higher damage threshold, and are easier to be processed. They, therefore ,have brisht future in applications. In this paper, the methods of studylng photorefractive effect in polymers are described, and the theoretical and experimental results reported up to now are reviewed.