Benzotriazole derivatives possess great potentials in molecular devices due to their special chemical structures, which stimulates photochemical and photophyscial investigation of benzotriazole derivatives. This paper describes the characteristics, types, present research and application of benzotriazole derivatives as ultraviolet stabilizer, points out the mechanism of excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) for benzotriazole derivatives, analyzes the problems in this kind of compounds and puts forward the research future.