Objective Comparing and studying accurate and applicable detection method of advantame in food. Methods Quantitative detection method by high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-DAD), high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detector(HPLC-FLD) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(LC-MS/MS) were developed for the determination of advantame in processed foods. The detection limits, accuracy and precision of the method by HPLC-DAD, HPLC-FLD and LC-MS/MS were compared. Results The limit of quantification (LOQ) of method by HPLC-DAD was high (0.8 mg/kg), and it did not meet the requirement of advantame limit test in food. The LOQ was 80.0 μg/kg by HPLC-FLD and 0.8 μg/kg by LC-MS/MS,and they meet the requirement of advantame limit test in food. In the range of detection concentration, the HPLC-FLD and LC-MS/MS method had good linear relationship. The recovery was 85.0%-103.1% with relative standard deviation of 2.5%-9.5%. Conclusion The HPLC-FLD and LC-MS/MS method had high accuracy and good precision, and could be used for rapid and accurate detection of advantame in food.