Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), self-assembled from the metal ions with organic ligands, are well known for their intriguing framework topology, permanent porosity, and tunable optical properties, which have shown great promise for a good number of applications. Over the past few years, the luminescent MOFs have attracted growing attentions, especially for developing various luminescent sensors, by virtue of the excellent selectivity and high sensitivity. In this feature article, we highlight some of the recent significant progress on this active research field, and provide a comprehensive review on luminescent MOFs as sensory materials for diverse sensing applications including for metal ions, anions, small molecules and gases, nirtoaromatic and explosives, temperature, as well as other aspects.