Abstract:This paper reviews the principles and distinctive features of optical frequency combs, and introduces the advantages of optical-frequency-comb-enabled laser ranging, including high accuracy, high measurement speed, and large detection range. The recent research progress of comb-based laser ranging methods is analyzed, covering time-of-flight method, dispersive interferometry method, frequency-modulated continuous wave method, and random-modulated continuous wave method. Finally, future prospects for optical-frequency-comb-based laser ranging are discussed. It is pointed out that by exploring new physical mechanisms for comb-based ranging we may further extend the measurement range, increase the update rate, and reduce system complexity; by developing new schemes for comb stabilization and flexible parameter control we can suppress noise and thus further improve measurement accuracy; and we can enhance practicality by establishing drift error monitoring and automatic calibration mechanisms across multiple time scales, as well as by integrating multi-parameter environmental sensing and an online refractive-index compensation chain.