We report the fast lateral photovoltaic effect in pure congruent LiNbO3 crystal induced by pulsed laser and continuous wave laser with wavelengths of 355, 532, and 1064 nm. A typical ultrafast photovoltage can be observed on the surface perpendicular to the c axis, with the rise time of 1.5 ns and the full-width at half-maximum of 1–2 ns, when the laser pulse inhomogeneously irradiates on the crystal. The peak open-circuit photovoltages show a linear dependence on the incident laser intensities. The mechanism of the photovoltaic characteristics is proposed.