The frequent environmental safety issues caused by waterborne pathogenic bacteria around the world, particularly in developing countries, have exerted impact on population health. Traditional detection technology with such problems as time-consuming, low sensitivity and difficulty in accurate quantification fails to meet the demand of effective monitoring on waterborne pathogenic bacteria with increasing varieties. In recent years, with the development of relevant detection technologies, the application of polymerase chain reaction, biochip and biosensor has gradually become research hotspot. On the basis of these technologies, the integration of novel material and different technologies, which has the characteristics of micro-portable, rapid and sensitive, accurate and specific, economical and convenient, has become the new developing direction of the waterborne pathogenic bacteria detection. This paper reviews the new waterborne pathogenic bacteria rapid detection technologies in recent years, with view to providing technical support for the effective monitoring and control to waterborne pathogenic bacteria in contaminated surface water and groundwater.