Abstract: ‍ ‍Detection and communication equipment are vital for environmental perception and information interaction in land/underwater/air-based platforms. The design of integrated detection and communication （IDC）， based on the similarities in hardware and software systems， can effectively reduce the size of the platform， avoid the mutual interference between systems， and improve the utilization rate of resources and the efficiency of information acquisition. Therefore， these designs have attracted significant attention and extensive research in recent years. This study first provides an overview of the development and work system of the IDC technology and reviews the research status of integrated waveform design under a fully shared system. Moreover， this study summarizes waveform design methods and signal processing techniques for single-input multiple-output and multiple-input multiple-output IDC systems， providing analyses of the applicable scenarios as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the different methods. Additionally， in response to the urgent demand for underwater acoustic IDC technology in the field of marine information， the feasibility of integrating detection and communication sonars is analyzed from the perspectives of the theoretical basis， system principles， and system composition by combining research ideas from the field of radar-communication integration， highlighting the advantages compared with traditional discrete sonar systems. Finally， this study provides application prospects for underwater acoustic IDC and makes preliminary analyses of the difficulties and challenges involved. Therefore， this study provides novel ideas for the integrated and multifunctional development of sonar systems.