Abstract: Compared with regular adsorption materials,carbon nanotubes have the advantages of high surface area,excellent chemical,mechanical,thermal stability and strong adsorption capacity,while the solid phase extraction has the advantages of simplicity,short extraction time and low consumption of organic solvents.Carbon nanotubes as adsorbent combined with the solid phase extraction process have shown good results in the preparation of food samples. In this paper,functional modification and adsorption properties of carbon nanotubes are described. The article mainly reviews the application of carbon nanotubes as solid phase extraction sorbent for detection of heavy metals,pesticides,drugs and organic pollutants in food,furthermore,current status and future direction of the application of carbon nanotubes for solid phase extraction is prospected.