Laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) is an emerging digital printing technology that used a pulsed laser beam to radiate donor material through a quartz substrate, driving part of the material to deposit films on the recipient surface. LIFT has high printing film accuracy, non-contact deposition, low operating environment constraints, and high operability. The large span of LIFT printing materials means a wider range of laser-induced forward transfer applications, from surface microstructures to printed electrodes, from chemical sensors to aerospace equipment. With the emergence of a variety of functional materials, LIFT technology innovation, including absorption layer LIFT technology, bubble driven LIFT technology, dynamic release layer LIFT technology and matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation direct writing technology. In this paper, it summarized the interaction and transfer mechanism between laser and material for solid and liquid phase thin film materials. Finally, the application direction of digital printing of thin film was prospected. In conclusion, we hoped that the introduction and summary of this paper can provide new ideas for the further development of this technology, so as to meet the challenge of developing related materials in multi-scale and multi-material application platforms.