In view of that only the intensity information of retroreflection wave is used and the poor capacity of anti-interference in laser short-range detection, the polarization characteristics of laser beam on the metal target surface are analyzed and a reflection model of polarized laser is established. A target detection method based on polarization characteristics of reflection laser is putted forward and the simulation of polarization characteristics on the surfaces of several typical metal targets is conducted at last. By analyzing the Stokes vector of reflection laser, both of the linear polarized light and the circular polarized become elliptically polarized light after reflection and the elliptical angle and the azimuth angle vary with different metal materials. The polarization characteristics of reflection laser, which provide the basis for distinguishing targets with different materials, could improve the anti-interference capacity of laser short-range detection.