Nanoenzymes are nanomaterials with intrinsic enzyme-like catalytic activities, which have the advantages of long storage time, low cost and high stability compared with natural enzymes. In recent years, various nanomaterials have been demonstrated to possess enzyme-mimicking properties, among which carbon-based nanoenzymes have attracted increasing attention due to their abundant active sites, excellent stability, and good biocompatibility, demonstrating significant application potential. This paper combines the latest research progress of carbon-based nanoenzymes in recent years, systematically summarizes the zero-dimensional, one-dimensional, two-dimensional and three-dimensional structural classifications of carbon-based nanoenzymes based on the dimensional characteristics, introduces the effects of structural modification strategies such as surface functional group modification and heteroatom doping on the enzyme activity, preliminarily discusses the catalytic mechanism of carbon-based nanoenzymes, and summarizes their applications in food safety analysis such as pesticide residues, foodborne pathogens, biotoxins, antibiotics, and pharmaceutical residues. Furthermore, critical challenges and future research directions for carbon-based nanozyme applications are proposed, aiming to provide a reference for the design of novel nanozymes with enzyme-mimetic catalytic activity and for expanding their applications.