Cresyl violet is an excellent fluorescent dye. The substitution of the 9-amino group of cresyl violet may quench spectroscopic signal or shift analytical wavelength,and the removal of the substituents would release cresyl violet,accompanying the fluorescence recovery. These properties of cresyl violet have recently attracted much attention to design superior spectroscopic probes for various analytes. In this review,we introduce the properties of cresyl violet, including its common impurity, and discuss a se...