The cataluminescent(CTL) phenomenon in the reaction of hydrogen sulfide on nano-MgO surface was studied.It was found that nano-MgO showed a good specificity towards hydrogen sulfide,a CTL sensor for hydrogen sulfide was developed on the basis of this phenomenon,then a rapid method for the detection of hydrogen sulfide was proposed after optimal design.The linear range for this method was 2.00-200 ppm(r=0.999 3),and the detection limit was 0.8 ppm at a signal to noise ratio(S/N) of 3.The sensor was applied in the spiked analysis of the artificial samples containing hydrogen sulfide with the recoveries between 88.4% and 97.2%.With the advantages of sensitivity,rapidness and easy operation,the sensor showed an application potential in the rapid detection of hydrogen sulfide.The possible CTL reaction mechanism of hydrogen sulfide was also discussed.