The survey and monitoring of underwater infrastructure (e.g. quay structures and pipelines) as well as natural objects are predominantly carried out using acoustic measurement methods. However, achieving reliable measurement accuracies and resolutions in the centimeter range remains challenging in many application scenarios. Underwater laser scanners with a rotating laser beam offer a promising complementary approach. This contribution presents the measurement conditions under which these systems can be applied, discusses their limitations, and highlights the added value they provide for the high-resolution survey of subaquatic objects.