Based on semiconductor photoresist patents in 126 countries collected by Patsnap database, the global patent application quantity, application trend, legal status, area distribution, main patent applicants and technique distribution are analyzed, and patents related to the semiconductor photoresist in the past 50 years are analyzed. Moreover, this paper recognizes the key technique of this area by analyzing the patents of TOP 10 foreign patent applicants. It is concluded that the global patent activity of semiconductor photoresist could be divided into four stages, and the changing trend of Chinese patent applications is basically the same as that of the whole world. However, the development of China in this field started relatively late and the total number of patent applications is lower than that of developed countries such as the United States, Japan and South Korea. The United States, Japan and South Korea occupy leading positions in the field of semiconductor photoresist, and Japan has mastered the technique in this field and has been in a monopoly position for a long time. China, comparatively, is still in the development stage. The key technique of representative foreign companies in semiconductor photoresist field is mainly focused on the design of photoresist composition and the design and optimization of synthesis process.