MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been deemed as promising molecular biomarkers for early diagnostics, classification and prognostic of cancers. A simple, cheap, instrument-free, and quantitative method is eagerly expected for the miRNA-related point of care testing (POCT) in patient’s home, development country as well as resource-poor rural setting. Herein, we developed a simply prepared capillarity self-driven DNA hydrogel sensor by fixing DNA hydrogel gel film at a capillary end, which can sensitive detection miRNA targets based on direct hybridization between miRNAs and the DNA probes in the DNA hydrogel. By immersing the sensor in the sample solution, the hybridization can increase the permeability of the DNA hydrogel film and thus the solution can flow through the capillary tube with the self-driven action of the capillary. Therefore, the miRNAs can be quantitatively detected with high sensitivity and specificity by visual reading the flow-through distance of the sample solution in the capillary tube. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that the self-driven DNA hydrogel sensor is practical and reliable for visual quantification of miRNA in complex biological samples by the naked eye without any auxiliary equipment. These advantages of the sensor show great potential in routine clinical diagnosis as well as POCT in resource-limited settings.