The key problem in the satellite-to-ground laser communication is primarily to mitigate the effect of atmospheric turbulence. After propagating through the atmosphere with a long distance, the wave-front distortion of signal light brings about the degradation of bit error rate (BER). The experimental development of the satelliteto-ground laser communication based on the domestic and abroad research progress is described. Some effective methods and discusses to overcome the turbulence effect on the high rate communication are presented. Finally, coherent detection technology based on interference principle and differentical phase shift keying (DPSK) modulation is emphatically analyzed in the phase demodulation, and the advantages are summarized. It is predictable that this technology will become more practical and play an important role in its application areas.