Abstract: As a great toxic chemical substance in physiology,heavy metal ions in food causes severe healthy problems and the detection methods of them have aroused widespread concern,especially in sensing area.Owing to their unique advantages,such as tissue penetration,minimum interference from background auto- fluorescence and efficient detection,fluorescent chemosensors have been one of the most important sensing methods for heavy metals. The advances in the progress of fluorescent chemosensors including coumarin,rhodamine analogue,quinoline and radiometric chemosensors were reviewed in this paper. The design principles of chemosensors,as well as sensing mechanisms and the relationship between structure and chemical sensing were analyzed,which provided guidance for fluorescent chemosensors to identify the heavy metals.Finally,in the aspect of food testing,environmental monitoring and biological imaging,the development and prospect of fluorescent chemosensors were addressed to our understanding.