The natural photonic crystal patterns provide unique functions for the survival of organisms, such as chameleons adapting their skin pattern colors to the environment for camouflage protection, and cephalopods (squid, cuttlefish, octopus, etc.) producing a wide range of structural colors and photonic patterns to facilitate information exchange between species. Inspired by the special functions of natural photonic patterns, cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) patterns have been developed and demonstrated potential applications in data storage, sensors, flexible intelligent devices, and other fields. This article reviews the external stimulus responsiveness, functional evolution, and applications of CLC patterns. Firstly, the external stimulus responsiveness of CLC patterns are summarized, including light, electricity, heat, mechanical force, and solvent. Secondly, various applications of CLC patterns are introduced, such as storage devices with encryption and decryption functions, information security and anti-counterfeiting devices, flexible wearable sensors, and circularly polarized light emitting systems. Finally, the prospects and challenges of CLC patterns are introduced. This review provides a foundation for constructing new functional materials based on CLC patterns.