Abstract: Sensory lexicon is a standardized vocabulary used to help different populations communicate about sensory issues. This paper reviews the process of building a sensory lexicon, which consists of four main steps: preparing samples and training personnel, generating an initial lexicon, discussing the initial lexicon and giving definitions and references, and verifying the validity of the lexicon. The specific operations and requirements of each of the four steps are described, and the development of a sensory lexicon for food and beverages over the past decade is summarized. The development of the lexicon has facilitated the standardization of sensory descriptors and the communication between the sensory community, the food manufacturing industry and consumers. In future developments, sensory lexicon building methods may be upgraded by combining them with chemical analysis, data mining techniques such as natural language processing, etc., and their application areas will tend to diversify.