The demand for functional metal patterning on dielectric surfaces has been growing rapidly

driven by applications in aerospace

consumer electronics

and flexible sensing technologies. As a mask-free and flexible technique

laser manufacturing provides high precision

non-contact processing

and high efficiency

making it ideal for directly fabricating functional metal patterns on various dielectric surfaces. In recent years

significant progress has been made in this field. This review classifies six primary laser manufacturing techniques for metal patterning on dielectric surfaces into two main categories: top-down and bottom-up approaches. These include laser ablation

selective laser sintering

pulsed laser deposition

laser-induced chemical liquid deposition

laser-induced chemical vapor deposition

and laser-assisted electroless plating. The principles

advantages

and recent developments of each technique are discussed

along with an exploration of the technical challenges and future directions for development in this evolving field.