Neurology disease is a common clinical disease, its pathogenesis is complex, if without timely intervention, it is readily to lead to the deterioration of the disease, and accompanied by a variety of complications, which seriously endanger the physical and mental health of patients. Therefore, the main task in the field of neuroscience is to thoroughly understand the regulation mechanism of brain central nerve cells. In recent years, with the establishment and rapid development of optogenetics, this technology that can enter neurons and precisely control cells provides help for researchers to further explore the pathogenesis of neurological diseases and the treatment of such diseases at the cellular level. From the development history of optogenetics, the discovery of light sensitive protein and the research progress of optogenetics in some common nervous system diseases, this paper expounds the optogenetics, which provides a new method for researchers to explore the clinical treatment of neurological diseases, and further promotes the human understanding of the role of neurons in the brain.