Infrared chemical sensors can provide a convenient and sensitive way to detect organic compounds in various forms of samples. Among the existed infrared sensing techniques, evanescent-wave type of sensor was found to be highly feasible for sensing organic compounds, especially in aqueous solutions. This type of sensor can directly detect compounds because the evanescent field can penetrate out of the sensing element in a short distance. Any compounds surrounding within the evanescent field can be sensed directly. Therefore, this article focuses on the introduction of the basic sensing principle, the sensitivity improvements in the past and the future perspective of sensing device.