Various barriers attached to the transmission line pose a huge threat to the safe and stable operation of the power grid. Traditional barrier removal methods either have safety hazards or consume high energy,and most of them require power outage. With the advantage of high energy and good collimation,laser can be used to shoot down foreign bodies or melt ice without contact from a distance. Therefore,the application status and development of laser barrier removal technology in power grid are sum up. Firstly,the principles of removing different types of barriers such as foreign bodies,ice and tree barriers using laser are summarized. Secondly,the features of several lasers which are commonly used in barriers removal areas are compared. Finally,the effect of some parameters such as laser wavelength,laser power and spot diameter on barrier removal efficiency are analyzed. The safety threshold of power density and irradiation time when lasers irradiate transmission line and insulators are also studied. Laser barrier removal technology is widely used to remove foreign bodies hanging on the lines,but removing ice,tree barriers or other barriers are limited by the removing efficiency and cost. These are still need to be further developed. The related researches and applications of this technology are reviewed in this paper,which can provide a reference for technical personnel in the field of electrical engineering technology.