In recent years, with the rapid development of high-intensity laser technologies, a focused laser peak intensity of over 1022 W/cm2 can be achieved in nowadays laboratory and the record is still being renewed. The sustained technological progress in high-intensity lasers is opening up the possibility of super-intense laser pulses to trigger nuclear processes and nuclear applications. The high-intensity lasers bring various new physical phenomena including accelerated particle beams and nuclear reactions when they interact with matter. Moreover, the extreme environment of high temperature, high pressure and high density plasma produced in the interaction, as well as the induced secondary particle beam of nuclear reaction, also provide a unique platform for other basic and application research. With high-intensity lasers, extreme physical conditions similar to those inside stars and supernovae can be created, which makes it possible to investigate various astrophysical processes in earth-based laboratories. Especially it can remove the uncertainty due to the electron screening effect in the measurement of cross-sections at low-energies. It is practically the only known method for scientists to study nuclear reactions in astronomical environments. Meanwhile, the research of nuclear reaction in laser-driven plasma is also closely related to the fuel target design in inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Laser driven nuclear reaction dynamics in plasma environment is critically important for research of astrophysical reactions and design of inertial confinement fusion. The dynamics is much more complicated compared with the matters in ambient temperature and pressure. Laser nuclear physics has received considerable attention as a new research area for the unique nuclear processes and nuclear applications. Therefore, lasers are becoming a new platform for investigating nuclear physics in addition to accelerators and reactors. The combination of laser plasma physics with nuclear physics benefits not only the fundamental scientific research with novel ideas and methods, but also wide physical application fields. Laser nuclear physics has become a new critical interdisciplinary subject, and one of the important frontiers of physics. Compared with traditional nuclear physics devices, high-intensity lasers have distinctive characteristics such as short pulse width, excellent time resolution, and high flux. These characteristics bring unique research opportunities, on the other hand, it also bring challenges to the detection of nuclear reaction products. Starting from the interaction between laser and matter, the laser devices in the world, reviews the motivation, characteristics and challenges of research of laser-driven nuclear reactions were introduced in this paper, and the research methods, production detection and calibration technology for the laser-driven nuclear reactions were summarized, and the latest research progress and prospects for future research of laser-driven nuclear reactions were introduced. © 2023 Atomic Energy Press. All rights reserved.
