From the type point of view, PbSe belongs to narrow gap direct band gap semiconductor materials. At room temperature, its detection performance is similar to that of cooled photonic infrared detection materials. However, at present, there are still technical bottlenecks in the two standard manufacturing processes of PbSe detectors, and it is difficult to prepare large-area, high-performance PbSe photosensitive films. Therefore large array, high-performance PbSe infrared imaging systems have not been commercialized. In addition, the sensitization mechanism and photoelectric detection mechanism that induce and improve the infrared detection ability of PbSe thin films are still unclear, and the accurate and quantified guidance for the sensitization process of wafer-level PbSe thin films cannot be provided. This restricts the further optimization and improvement of the performance of the PbSe infrared detector. Based on the development history of PbSe infrared detector, the research results of device structure, preparation technology and detection mechanism of PbSe infrared detector are summarized, and the future development trend of PbSe infrared detector is predicted.