Ionic liquids (ILs) are considered to be very promising group of chemicals and the number of their potential applications is growing rapidly. However, while these compounds were originally proposed as a green alternative to classical solvents, there are certain doubts as to whether this classification is correct. Although in recent years there have been first reports published proving the presence of some ILs in the environment and even in human blood, at this point the scale of this possible problem is not yet fully understood. However, there is no doubt that as the number of ILs applications increases, analytical capabilities for rapid detection of possible environmental contamination should be also considered. Therefore, in this review paper, recent evidences for the ILs environmental contamination as well as analytical achievements related to the extraction of ILs from various environmental matrices have been summarized and important gaps and future perspectives have been pointed out. Based on the presented data it might be concluded that there is the urgent need for further development towards risk assessment of these potential environmental contaminants.

离子液体 (ILs) 被认为是非常有前途的一组化学品，其潜在应用的数量正在迅速增长。然而，虽然这些化合物最初被提议作为经典溶剂的绿色替代品，但对于这种分类是否正确存在一定的疑问。尽管近年来发表的第一份报告证明了一些 ILs 存在于环境中，甚至存在于人体血液中，但目前尚未完全了解这一可能问题的规模。然而，毫无疑问，随着离子液体应用数量的增加，还应考虑快速检测可能的环境污染的分析能力。因此，在这篇评论文章中，总结了 ILs 环境污染的最新证据以及与从各种环境基质中提取 ILs 相关的分析成果，并指出了重要的差距和未来前景。根据所提供的数据，可以得出结论，迫切需要进一步发展这些潜在环境污染物的风险评估。