Gold nanoparticles （GNPs） have good biocompatibility and unique optical properties， and their surfaces can be combined with biological and organic molecules to form functionalized GNPs. Owing to these characteristics， GNPs have a wide range of applications in food safety detection. This article reviews the application of GNPs for the detection of food-borne pathogens， biotoxins， heavy metal ions， drug residues， food additives， illegal additives， and other harmful food factors. Moreover， prospects for the application of GNPs in food safety detection are also discussed.