Short-wave infrared imaging technology holds significant potential for industrial, medical, and consumer electronics applications. However, traditional detectors such as indium gallium arsenide face challenges including high costs, limited spectral response range, and difficulties in achieving both high resolution and miniaturization, hindering widespread adoption. Colloidal quantum dots, a class of low-dimensional semiconductor nanomaterials processable in solution, demonstrate unique quantum confinement effects that enable precise spectral control in the 1.0–3.0 μm wavelength range. Their excellent compatibility with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processes and flexible substrates opens new avenues for developing cost-effective, high-performance short-wave infrared detection technologies. This review systematically examines the working principles, performance parameters, and latest research advancements of quantum dot short-wave infrared detectors worldwide. It particularly explores their application potential in material defect detection, semiconductor monitoring, agricultural food analysis, biomedical imaging, and mobile device integration, while also outlining future technological developments and industrialization challenges.