As a broad-spectrum antibiotic, florfenicol is widely used in livestock, poultry and aquaculture. Due to the unregulated use by some enterprises, a large amount of florfenicol residue exists in animal-derived foods. When florfenicol enters the human body through the food chain, it can cause gastrointestinal discomfort, intoxication, and even aplastic anemia. To minimize the effects of florfenicol residues and derivatives in food on human beings, many countries have set strict limits for maximum florfenicol residues in food. Therefore, this paper summarizes the detection methods for florfenicol established in recent years and gives an outlook on their development trends.