Study on laser altimeter technology has had a history of decades.It has also been used in wide application fields such as topography,geodesy,astronautics,resource survey,etc.Although the technology is relatively mature,it still has a wide developing space as the laser technology and application requirements develop fast.By studying several practical systems which are developed recently or under research,the developing tendency and prospect of laser altimeter are summarized.The technology of multi-beam,single photon detection,multi-shot counting and multi-function system are introduced,which might offer reference for the research of new type laser altimeter.