MoS₂, a family member of transition-metal dichalcogenides, has shown highly attractive superiority for detection arising from its unique physical and chemical properties. Coupling MoS₂ with DNA recognition events leads to novel sensing platforms. Therefore, it has attracted increasing interest for MoS₂ based sensors in the increasing demands of biomedical applications. This has led to its rapid development in field of sensor. This paper summarizes the key issues in the development of MoS₂-DNA and MoS₂ based sensors related to fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), electrochemical biosensing, and field effect transistors (FET) biosensing for use in the detection of DNA, proteins, metal ions, and others. The detection mechanisms and the advantages of MoS₂ are revealed. Future directions in which the field is likely to thrive and some critical challenges are also discussed.