Among the many studies of carbon-based nanomaterials, carbon-based dots (CDs) have attracted considerable interest owing to their large surface area, intrinsic low-toxicity, excellent biocompatibility, high solubility, and low-cost with environmentally friendly routes, as well as their ability for modification with other nanomaterials. CDs have several applications in biosensing, photocatalysis, bioimaging, and nanomedicine. In addition, the fascinating electrochemical properties of CDs, including high active surface area, excellent electrical conductivity, electrocatalytic activity, high porosity, and adsorption capability, make them potential candidates for electrochemical sensing materials. This paper reviews the recent developments and synthesis of CDs and their composites for the proposed electrochemical sensing platforms. The electrochemical principles and future perspective and challenges of electrochemical biosensors are also discussed based on CDs-nanocomposites.