Recent technological advancement led to the development of new and innovative explosive detection methods which play an important role in national security and anti-terrorism applications. Physical properties associated with explosive materials enable the development of an explosive trace detection system (ETD). Nanoscience and materials have paved the way to explore new horizons of miniaturization and portable devices for on-site explosive trace detection. This review paper showcases nanomaterial-based advances in explosive detection. The detection mechanism and analytical aspect of chemiluminescence, electrochemical, microcantilever, and electronic nose devices for explosive compounds are briefly reviewed. The article emphasizes the current limit of detection of explosives as a crucial benchmark, shaping the foundation for the evolution of future nanomaterial-based Explosive Trace Detection (ETD) sensing systems.