The crystals are beautiful and useful, and the structure is harmonious and orderly. Photoelectric functional crystal can realize the interconversion of optical and electric energy, and occupy an important position in the high-tech fields of microelectronics, optoelectronics, communications, aerospace and modern military technology. People’s understanding of crystals is derived from natural minerals. From the discovery of mineral crystals to the artificial growth and application of photoelectric functional crystals, great progress has been made in crystal types, crystal quality, growth theory, growth technology and application. The development process from mineral gem to crystallography is briefly described, the development process of several kinds of photoelectric functional crystals such as piezoelectric crystal, electro-optic crystal, laser crystal, nonlinear optical crystal and scintillation crystal is introduced, and research progress on crystal growth is summarized in this paper.