Red Noctiluca scintillans (RNS) red tides frequently occur in coastal waters in China, leading to great ecological and economic losses. The prewarning of red tides via the monitoring of RNS abundance in the field is of great importance. Bioluminescence sensors are convenient to deploy on multiple underwater platforms, and bioluminescence is related to the abundance and species of dinoflagellates. As an optical proxy, the maximum bioluminescence potential (MBP) could respond in a timely manner to changes in RNS abundance and be utilized to estimate it. A novel method with high correlation (R2=0.82) is proposed to estimate the RNS abundance from the MBP in this study. The maximum RNS abundance range of the method is 380 cell L-1. Furthermore, the bioluminescence flash kinetics of dinoflagellate individuals are analyzed to demonstrate the applicability of the method in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea.