Carbohydrates are the most abundant organic compounds in nature, widely distributed in animals, plants and microorganisms. In order to understanding their structure properties, the following critical aspects should be revealed: a) building blocks (compositional monosaccharide); b) glycosidic linkages and anomeric configuration; c) sequence of sugar residues; d) molecular mass or degree of polymerization; e) substitutions. Mass spectrometry (MS) is a powerful technology for carbohydrate analysis. The development of ionization sources and mass analysers, as well as the possibility in coupling with different separation methods, extend their potential to carbohydrates research. Therefore, in this review, the research progress of carbohydrates investigated by MS technologies was summarized, mainly emphasized on how their structural features were elucidated, and a brief description of their applications in characterizing herbal and food polysaccharides, as well as proposing some suggestion of future development prospects.

碳水化合物是自然界中含量最丰富的有机化合物，广泛分布于动物、植物和微生物中。为了理解它们的结构特性，应揭示以下关键方面： a) 构件（组合单糖）；b) 糖苷键和异头构型；c) 糖残基序列；d) 分子量或聚合度；e) 替换。质谱 (MS) 是一种强大的碳水化合物分析技术。电离源和质量分析仪的发展，以及与不同分离方法结合的可能性，将它们的潜力扩展到碳水化合物研究。因此，本文综述了质谱技术研究碳水化合物的研究进展，