Abstract: Fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs) is a kind of fluorescent dye, which is mainly used in paper, plastic, leather, detergents and other manufacturing industries, it has the potential carcinogenicity for the human body. In this paper, various detection methods for fluorescent whitening agents in China and abroad were introduced, aiming at establish the detection method for fluorescent whitening agents in food, food packaging materials and other products which were close contact with humans.