Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are of great interest to researchers in chemistry and material science due to their various chemical and physical properties, which include high surface area, augmented adsorption/desorption kinetics, biocompatibility, and functional tunability. The structurally diverse 1-D, 2-D, and 3-D metalorganic frameworks have found applications in chemical sensing and several other fields, such as energy applications, biomedicine, and catalysis. In this review article, we address recent research advances in the use of metal-organic-framework-based nanocomposite materials as luminescent sensors for detecting various metal ions in aqueous biological and environmental samples.