Abstract: To effectively solve the problems of missed seeding, reseeding and uneven seeding in seeding, as well as to improve seeding quality and increase grain yield, intelligent detection technology was applied to the seeding process. This paper introduced the research progress of the existing seeding detection technology, underground seed non-contact detection technology and variable seeding technology. It focused on the analysis of the working principles and structural characteristics of various types of sensors used in intelligent detection technology of planters, and summarized the advantages and disadvantages of various types of sensors, as well as the problems and shortcomings in actual use. It was concluded that the photoelectric sensors were easily polluted and had detection blind areas, the capacitive sensor was susceptible to parasitic capacitance, and the output impedance was large. The piezoelectric sensor easily caused seed congestion, and the machine vision sensor is anti-interference poor ability. Based on the analysis of various sensors, it summarized the problems existing in the intelligent detection of domestic planters: the low detection accuracy and anti-interference ability of sensors, the single type of agricultural sensors, the low level of intelligence, the mismatch between agricultural machinery and detection devices, etc. Additionally, the application of machine vision technology in intelligent detection of planter, the application of infrared detection and machine vision detection in underground non-contact detection, the development direction of intelligent control system and the combination of variable seeding technology and 3 S system were prospected. It provides a reference for further optimization of domestic planter’s intelligent detection technology.