Abstract: Dopamine molecules are easy to self-polymerize under weak alkaline conditions, and can deposit on the surface of various materials to from a polydopamine (PDA). PDA can optimize the properties of the substrate materials, equiped it with excellent hydrophilicity, antifouling, antibacterial performance and biocompatibility, which provide an ideal platform for further functional modification on material surface. The recent research status of various PDA functionalized composite, including polydopamine-functionalized metal nanoparticles, polydopamine-functionalized carbon-based nanomaterials, polydopamine-functionalized metal-organic framework and polydopamine molecular imprinting polymers were summarized, their application in the detection of pesticide and veterinary drug residues, heavy metal residues and other trace organic pollutants in food were introduced, which could provide a new research direction for the development of food sample pretreatment technology.