The demands on the quality of velocity, concentration and temperature data from turbulent combustion systems for comparison with numerical predictions are rising with the increasing performance of models for the numerical description of these effects. These demands lead to a high degree of maturity in laser-based methods for concentration, temperature and species information. Laser-based methods are able to give the required information without severely disturbing the observed effects and with the needed accuracy and temporal and spatial resolution. This article reviews the state of the art and recent developments of laser-Doppler velocimetry, Rayleigh spectroscopy, spontaneous Raman spectroscopy, coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy and laser-induced fluorescence. Emphasis is placed not only on aspects of these measurement techniques connected with spatially and temporally resolved quantitative measurements in turbulent combustion, but also on the interaction of the requirements of these methods on the object with the requirements of the characterized object itself and with demands from methods of numerical prediction on the generated data. New developments and requirements on the reviewed methods originating from new trends in combustion modelling are included.