<p>Although the widespread use of organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) ensures high crop yields, their toxicity has given rise to severe food safety and environmental issues, making the rapid and accurate detection of OPs residues crucial. Traditional detection methods are constrained by drawbacks such as high instrument costs and cumbersome operations, which hinder their large-scale promotion. However, carbon quantum dots (CQDs), as nanomaterials with low toxicity, low cost, and excellent fluorescent properties, provide a new approach for OPs detection. This paper systematically reviews the two core synthesis methods of CQDs and elaborates in detail on the principles and application examples of four major detection mechanisms, namely enzyme inhibition, fluorescence resonance energy transfer, photoinduced electron transfer, and inner filter effect. In terms of applications, four major technical approaches-single-probe, ratiometric probe, electrochemical probe, and visual detection are continuously refined. These approaches have been successfully applied to the detection of OPs residues in multiple matrices and exhibit advantages including strong selectivity, simple operation, and adaptability to on-site detection. Currently, CQDs-based sensors still face challenges such as insufficient selectivity and poor portability. In the future, it will be necessary to enhance targeted recognition capabilities through the functional modification of CQDs, promote the miniaturization of sensors, and construct intelligent detection platforms by leveraging multi-technology integration and machine learning algorithms. These efforts will further facilitate the practical implementation and industrial development of rapid OPs detection technologies.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>