Fermented food is an indispensable part of the human food chain. Due to complex raw materials, processes and strain fermentation, there are certain limitations in its rapid and intuitive analysis of flavor components, determination of harmful substances, and identification of counterfeit and inferior products. Carbon dots (CDs) are a fluorescent nanomaterial with good fluorescence characteristics, excellent biocompatibility, simple production and modifiability. As a type of detector, CDs fluorescent probes have shown great potential in food ingredient analysis, food safety detection, and food authenticity identification. Compared with large-scale detection instruments, CDs fluorescent probes have the advantages of simplicity, high sensitivity, and rapid response in the detection of fermented food. Their adjustable fluorescence characteristics and stable fluorescence signal output enable rapid extraction and conversion of key substance information in fermented food. Combined with chemical stoichiometry, they can achieve rapid in situ detection and authenticity identification of fermented food. Here, a brief overview is provided on the preparation, optical properties, and formation mechanism of CDs, with a focus on the application of CDs fluorescent probes in the analysis of flavor components, detection of harmful substances in alcoholic fermented foods, and detection of harmful substances in non-alcoholic fermented foods. Summarized the challenges faced by CDs fluorescent probes in the detection of fermented food and made prospects, further expanding the application of CDs fluorescent probes in the detection of fermented food, in order to provide a reference for the development and application of CDs fluorescent probes in the field of fermented food detection.