In 2012, Cristescu et al.[14] described current methods for the detection of ethylene in plants. They give an overview on the possibilities for ethylene measurement under laboratory conditions. The highest sensitivity can be achieved by photoacoustic spectroscopy. We start our overview with a short summary of this technology. But the main focus of this paper is on measuring principles that are suitable to be applied along the cold chain of fresh fruits, i.e. inside moving trucks and containers, as well as during storage and post-harvest processing. In this case, factors other than the sensitivity become important as well, e.g. the suitability for mobile usage, longterm stability and the price. Non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) spectroscopy, miniaturized gas chromatography (GC) and electro-catalytic measurement are discussed in more detail owing to the latest developments and tests by the authors. However, for the sake of completeness, we summarize additionally measuring principles of electrochemical sensors