Traditional semiconducting metal oxide-based gas sensors are always limited on low surface areas and high operating temperatures. Considering the high surface area and high stability of zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF), ZIF-67 (surface area of 1832.2 m(2) g(-1)) was first employed as a promising formaldehyde gas sensor at a low operating temperature (150 degrees C), and the gas sensor could detect formaldehyde as low as 5 ppm. This work develops a new promising application approach for porous metal-organic frameworks.