Image Plate (IP) is convenient to be used and very suitable for radiation detection because of its advantages such as wide dynamic range, high detective quantum efficiency, ultrahigh sensitivity and superior linearity. The function mechanism and characteristics of IP are introduced in this paper. IP was employed in the study of hot electrons generated from intense laser-plasma interaction. The angular distri- bution and energy spectrum of hot electrons were measured with IP in the experi- ments. The results demonstrate that IP is an effective radiation detector for the study of laser-plasma interaction.