Most Copper (Cu) and Gold (Au) deposits are accompanied by hydrothermal alteration, generally related to ore-forming hydrothermal fluids. Multispectral and hyper-spectral Remote Sensing (RS) technology is essential for Cu-Au mineral prospecting. This paper provides an overview of RS data and the research situation and development tendencies of RS exploration technologies related to Cu-Au deposits. Initially, RS geologists applied the Band Ratio (BR) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to extract hydroxyl and iron anomalies from Landsat RS data to characterize the hydrothermal alterations associated with Cu-Au deposits. In the era of advanced spaceborne thermal emission and reflection radiometry (ASTER), clay minerals, sulfate minerals, carbonate minerals, silica minerals, and iron minerals can be identified because of three Visible and near-infrared bands (VNIR), six shortwave infrared bands (SWIR), and five Thermal Infrared bands (TIR). Alteration of mineral assemblages can be carried out to map alteration zones, which are essential for calibrating Cu-Au alteration zones, such as the typical alteration zoning characteristics of Porphyry Copper Deposits (PCD). Because of its high spectral resolution, Satellite hyperspectral RS can quantitatively map surface alteration minerals to indicate the exploration of Cu-Au deposits. RS geologists have extensively researched matching libraries and field spectra for Alteration Mineral Mapping (AMM). However, subpixel mineral information caused by low spatial resolution and atmospheric factors has an unavoidable influence on satellite hyperspectral RS AMM, and it is essential to use low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) hyperspectral RS. UAV hyperspectral AMM combined with geochemistry and geophysics is a means of prospecting and exploring Cu-Au deposits.