Synthetic musks(SMs) are widely used as a substitute of natural musks in consumer products for their low price,special and long-lasting fragrance.They are divided into nitro musks,polycyclic musks and macro musks according to their chemical structures.With the mass production and extensive usage,SMs are continuely released into the environment via direct or indirect ways,and becoming emerging pollutants.Numerous reports have shown that SMs,especially galaxolide(HHCB),tonalide(AHTN),musk xylene(MX) and musk ketone(MK),are available in aquatic environment,soil,air and organisms.Due to their high lipophilicity and persistency,synthetic musks accumulate and produce toxic effect in biotas,thus having increasing impact on ecology and giving rise to public concern.In this paper,the characteristics,exact classification,environmental occurrences and the analysis of SMs are introduced.The main focus is on the analytical methods such as GC and GC-MS,the most common detection methods for SMs.Mass spectrometry is firstly preferred among the analytical methods because of its high selectivity,accuracy and sensitivy in qualitative and quantitative analyses.The preparation techniques for samples with different matrix(eg.water,sewage sluge,sediment,air and biotas) to reduce interference are also discussed,which may still be a notable problem in the near future.