Jaundice is a clinically common symptom and sign, which is caused by elevated blood bilirubin. Elevated levels of bilirubin in the blood not only indicate that there may be a severe primary disease, but that excessive bilirubin may also cause bilirubin encephalopathy, which in severe cases leads to death. Clinically, noninvasive screening can be performed early in the population using optical methods, and blood screening for positive screening patients can be performed for diagnosis, thereby increasing the probability of finding jaundice and related diseases. This article reviews the research progress of optical detection methods for bilirubin in recent years.