The development background of atomic layer deposition technology was briefly described. Then, technical principles, technical characteristics and advantages of atomic layer deposition technology were summarized, and the two self-limiting mechanisms of chemical adsorption and sequential reaction were described and compared. Hereafter, the latest results of the atomic layer deposition technology in process and other applications in nanocatalysts, batteries, semiconductor devices, optics, biomedicine and aerospace were highlighted. Among them, the applications of atomic layer deposition in batteries, semiconductor devices and biomedical applications were classified and introduced. The batteries included lithium ion batteries and solar cells. The semiconductor devices were divided into high-k dielectrics, capacitors, and resistor random access memory (RRAM), photodiode. In biomedical fields, the research progress in biocompatibility, antibacterial coatings and microscopic component directions were displayed, respectively. In the end, it summarized and prospected the development direction and application of atomic layer deposition technology.