Abstract: Cellulose is one of the abundant natural polymers in nature, which is renewable, environmentally friendly and biocompatible. Nanocellulose is prepared by physical or chemical method from cellulose. The morphology and physicochemical properties of nanocellulose are significantly affected by the different methods of preparation. Nanocellulose has attracted much attention in food industry due to its high surface area and modulus, amphiphilicity, biocompatibility and safety. In this paper, the application of nanocellulose prepared by agricultural and forestry by-products in food packaging, emulsifying stabilizer, enzyme immobilization and rapid nondestructive detection of food contaminants based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) are summarized. Challenges in the application of nanocellulose in food industry are analyzed, and the research development tendency is prospected.