In recent years, laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technology, as an advanced additive manufacturing method, has attracted significant attention as a research focus. Due to its design freedom advantage, LPBF allows for the precise creation of cooling channels tailored to the molds contours. As a result, the cooling efficiency and service life of mold will be improved. Therefore, LPBF has been widely used in the manufacturing of hot work molds. H13 steel has become one of the most commonly used tool steels for hot work molds, owing to its remarkable attributes such as superior strength and hardness, along with exceptional resistance to tempering. The application of LPBF technology in H13 tool steel remains a significant area of investigation,where substantial advancements have been made. Based on this,the formability of H13 steel fabricated via LPBF has been described. The influence of process parameters on forming defects and the methods for controlling cracks have been analyzed. Then, the evolution of the microstructure during printing and heat treatment is discussed in detail, and the influence of the microstructure on plasticity, hardness and strength is reviewed as a result. In addition, the service performance of LPBFH13 steel in hot work molds is investigated, with the result that the as-built LPBF-H13 steel has excellent resistance to tempering softening and thermal fatigue. The application of LPBF-H13 steel hot work dies including conformal cooling channels has been concluded, its notable advantages in raising cooling efficiency have been noted.