With the continuous development of science and technology, UAV technology has been widely used in various fields. As an essential part, light and small UAV platforms have the advantages of being small, lightweight, and easy to operate and thus have been widely used in aerial photography, monitoring, rescue, and other fields. However, the traditional data transmission method can no longer meet the demand for the data transmission speed and stability of small and light UAV platforms. Wireless optical communication has the advantages of being high-speed and license-free, as well as having a large bandwidth strong anti-interference ability, and good confidentiality. Therefore, this paper aims to study high-speed data transmission technology for light and small UAV platforms to improve their transmission speed and stability. In this paper, the characteristics and advantages of UAV airborne laser communication are first elaborated to illustrate the advancements and importance of data transmission technology based on light and small UAV platforms. Then, the composition of a UAV airborne laser communication system is clarified to illustrate the feasibility of conducting airborne laser communication research. Then, the current domestic and international research status of people on light and small UAV airborne laser communication high-speed data transmission systems is reviewed, and its key technical features are analyzed. Finally, the prospects for its application and development trend are investigated.