Abstract: Gestational diabetes mellitus （GDM） easily lead to some complications，such as preeclampsia，polyhydramnios，macrosomia，and so on. The traditional diagnostic protocols for GDM mainly rely on detecting elevated glucose levels in blood，often late in the second trimester. Therefore the treatment time for the patients is not enough and the serious risk to maternal and child health raise. Metabolomics is an approach that investigates the metabolic responses of living systems to internal or external stimuli or genetic modification. The application of metabolomics to GDM research will help to interpret the pathogenesis of GDM. In addition，it can also provide the theoretical and experimental support for prevention and treatment of GDM as well as the prognosis of mothers and their infants. The characteristics of the common detection methods and the metabolomics studies of GDM were analyzed and compared in detail in this paper，and the metabolomic studies in GDM was further reviewed.

Key words: Diabetes, gestational, Amniotic fluid, Plasma, Urine, Metabolomics