Nitrate is one of the most common contaminants in food and the environment and mainly arises from intense human activities. Electrochemical sensors have been considered as one of the most promising analytical tools for the rapid detection of nitrate in food and environmental matrices due to their quick response, high sensitivity, ease of operation and miniaturisation, and low sample and power consumption. In this review, we summarise advances in sensors for electrochemical analysis of nitrate over the past decade. We also discuss the application of electrochemical sensing systems for the determination of nitrate in the matrices of fresh water, seawater, food, soil and particulate matter.