Abstract: A review on the recent advances on the research of chemical sensors used in the detection of explosives was presented,pertaining especially to various new sensors feasible to be used in the explosive detection,to the principle of these sensors,and to an introduction of the efficiency of sensors with different working principles.A comparative study of different kinds of sensors was also made from the viewpoints of sensitivity,detection limits,their function in qualitative and quantitative determination,and even the size and volume of the sensors.A brief discussion on the trend of research and application of sensors in this field was also given (19 ref.cited).