It is important for the development of biomedicine, biochemistry and nanoscience to manipulate micro/nano materials, cells, biomolecules with high precision, high flexibility and no damage. As the core technology of capture and manipulation, the development and application of
 optical tweezers are becoming increasingly extensive. Here, firstly, this paper systematically describes the working principle and unique functions of various optical tweezers. Then, the paper expounded the application of different optical tweezers in biology, and further discussed their development prospects in life sciences.