Rare earth ion-doped tellurite glasses and optical fibers have significant advantages such as fluorescence properties, good thermal stability against crystallization, low transition temperature, high nonlinearity, high refractive index and strong penetration. With the deepening of the research on tellurite glass, fluorescence sensors based on rare earth ion-doped tellurite glass and optical fibers have attracted much attention in the sensing field due to their fast response, strong anti-electromagnetic interference, high resolution, and good stability. In this paper, the preparation method, characteristics, working principle and application in the field of sensing of rare earth ion-doped tellurite glass and optical fiber are reviewed, three aspects of temperature sensing, pressure sensing and concentration sensing are introduced and the prospect of its sensing applications are prospected.