Liquid crystal sensor system has been recently considered as an emerging sensor system because its signal is colorful under ambient light, which allows untrained people for portable applications without the limitation of venue and instrumentation. In this article, we will introduce the development of liquid crystal sensor system, including the design of sensing platform, detectionprinciples and applicable targets. Based on this information, we will further evaluate the future prospects of this system and propose what kinds of techniques are needed to improve the performance of this system. We anticipate more researchers from multidisciplinaryfields to join this field to make better and sooner progress of the liquid crystal sensor system.