Quantum Dots are nanocrystals which are fluorescent in nature and their unique optical properties depend on their size. Quantum Dots have replaced conventional fluorophores which have disadvantages like photobleaching, narrow absorption spectra, stability and short period of fluorescence. Due to the possibility of conjugating the Quantum Dots to various types of bio molecules like streptavidin, antibodies, mannose etc there have been numerous applications in the detection, enumeration and differentiation of various bacteria. Quantum Dots can be applied to various matrices like food, water, tissue and blood samples. Quantum Dots have been used to detect pathogenic bacteria like E.coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Bacillus anthracis, Listeria monocytogenes and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Quantum dots can detect bacteria at the levels of 103- 10 CFU/ml in contaminated water samples. The minimum time for detection of bacteria using Quantum Dots ranges from 15 minutes to 2 hours. The major hindrance in using the Quantum Dots is its cost of production. This review summarises the properties, synthesis and applications of Quantum dots in the detection of bacteria which can have major implications in food and water safety evaluation, diagnosis of bacterial diseases and environmental enumeration of bacteria.__ampersandsignnbsp;