Forest ecosystem, which is the largest terrestrial ecosystem, consists of forest coenosis and environment with complex functions of energy transformation and storage. The traditional field-based investigation has always failed to solve the forest issues in complex spatial and temporal scale. Remote sensing technology, which can collect and process huge amount of diverse data in a large scale, is an efficient tool to understand forest ecosystem. Accordingly, the interdiscipline and combination with remote sensing technology has made great progress on the development of forest health issues over the past decades. At present, forest health studies based on remote sensing are in the process of combination with relevant subjects in a key transformation period from static to dynamic state, single to composite system, and fragmented to framework thought. However, these studies are lack in a synthetic and logic consideration, or a top design on forest health issues. Therefore, in this paper, based on the core theory of forest health involving vigor, organization and resilience, we give a summery of the forest health studies based on remote sensing both at home and abroad in order to make a better understanding on technical know-how of its achievements, progresses and disadvantages in theories, technologies and applications to four categories: forest resources inventory; ecological functions assessment; forest health risks control; vegetation parameter retrieval. In conclusions, the studies indicated that: (1) the basic studies should be strengthened on forest ecology and remote sensing theory and technology in order to know the relationships between forest structure, process, function and remote sensing data; (2) new remote sensing technology, the remote sensing data algorithm and software tools should be developed and perfected to increase the accuracy, utilization and efficiency of remote sensing data; (3) the transformation from forest health scientific studies to their achievements should be enhanced to speed up the analysis, assessment and auxiliary decision; to develop the effects of forest health and scientific studies, as well as to formulate the forest policies.