With the exploration of the ocean, the development of underwater detection technology has played an important role. Sensitive organs of aquatic animal, such as lateral lines of fish and whiskers of seals, can sense the hydrodynamic wake generated by the movement of objects. Inspired by them, the bionic flow field detection technology overcomes the limitations of optical and acoustic detection in the near-field perception of complex underwater environments, and has become a research hotspot. Firstly, this paper has summarized the research status of typical underwater detection technology. Then, the principle of underwater biomimetic flow field detection is explained, and the research progress of bionic flow field sensors based on different principles is summarized. The research progress of hydrodynamic flow field detection methods is analyzed. Finally, the key problems that need to be solved in the detection of underwater bionic flow field are summarized, and the future research direction is further prospected.