Abstract: This paper provides a systematic review of the research progress in ultraviolet-based partial discharge detection technology. It presents an in-depth analysis of the physical mechanism of ultraviolet discharge detection and describes the gas discharge process and spectral characteristics in detail. It provides a comprehensive review of ultraviolet detection methods, covering solar-blind ultraviolet sensors, ultraviolet photomultiplier tubes, ultraviolet imaging technology, and emerging semiconductor ultraviolet detectors. It discusses ultraviolet localization algorithms and the coordinated application of ultraviolet detection with other diagnostic techniques. Finally, it discusses future research directions, including the development of high-performance ultraviolet sensors, advances in intelligent diagnostic algorithms, and multi-source information fusion.