980 nm Yb-doped fiber laser can be used to pump Er-doped and Yb-doped fiber lasers to achieve high power laser output. Besides, it can be used to obtain the blue-green light at 490 nm by frequency doubling technique. As a result, it has drawn wide attention and become research hotspots. This review focuses on the related research achievements and experimental progress at home and abroad based on three operating modes (continuous fiber oscillator, pulsed fiber oscillator and fiber amplifier), and gives an outlook of the potential development of 980 nm Yb-doped fiber laser.