Abstract: The traditional separation techniques of brittle materials can not meet the high precision and high cleanliness requirements in the semiconductor industry because they are susceptible to some flaws, such as residual stress, micro-cracks, chippings on the edge. However, the laser micro-processing technique is becoming a potential precision processing technique for brittle materials because of its advantages, such as non-pollution, non-contact, high processing precision and operational flexibility. The principle of processing, characteristic and research status on the several typical laser micro-processing techniques, such as laser ablation cutting technique, micro-crack propagation control technique by laser-induced tension,laser lift-off technique used to separate brittle materials are reviewed. The main problems existing in the techniques are pointed out and the improvements are briefly discussed. The development prospect of laser separation techniques is also predicted.