Laboratory animals are important experimental materials for life science research, and the uniformity of their quality plays a key role in the accuracy and reliability of the experimental results. Therefore, the genetic quality test of laboratory animals is an important link to evaluate the genetic quality of laboratory animals. With the progress of modern biotechnology, the methods of genetic testing for experimental animals have been updated. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) as molecular markers have been widely used in genetic testing of laboratory animals, and with the progress of modern biotechnology, the SNP detection methods for laboratory animals have been updated. In this review, we mainly sorted out the current research progress and application of SNP detection methods in genetic quality testing of laboratory animals, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of various detection methods, with a view to providing a reference basis for genetic quality testing of laboratory animals.