Stroke is characterized by high mortality, disability, and recurrence rate, and is a disease withunsatisfactory therapies. Hemorrhage and ischemic strokes are the two main types of stroke, with the latter accounting for80% of all cases. Research has been conducted on the development of effective drugs to prevent and treat stroke, and theestablishment of a convenient and practical model is an important part of pathologic mechanism research and the drugscreening process. Among ischemic stroke models, the photothrombotic stroke model is increasingly used because of itsunique advantages such as its simple operation, very low mortality rate, no requirement for craniotomy, and the fact that itis less traumatic than other models. It can adjust the position of the region of the brain where the laser light strikes to controlthe location of blood clots, change the dosage of the photosensitizing dye, and the intensity and time of laser irradiation toaffect the size of focal ischemic formation. It is also suitable for research into the cellular and molecular mechanisms ofneurodegeneration, neuroprotection, and neurogenesis during ischemic stroke, and the development of anti-stroke agents.This paper summarizes the mechanisms, advantages, and disadvantages of the photothrombotic stroke model and its applications in drug development.