Heavy-metal pollution is a foremost concern, as excessive heavy metals produce environmental contamination, and the accumulative effects of heavy metals pose a major hazard to human health. There is an urgent need for a fast, sensitive and effective method for detecting heavy metal cations in the environment. In recent years, using Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) technique, significant progress was achieved in quantitative analysis by providing a new approach for determination of chemical content analysis. The objective aim of this review is to assess the research development of QCM applications in detection of heavy metal cations in natural water (or aqueous solution) and reflect the challenges and forthcoming point of view for QCM-based sensors for heavy-metal ions. A brief outline about the basic measurement methodologies and analytical techniques is given. To illustrate applications of the QCM techniques, the influence of the structural transformation resulting from polymer, macrocyclic ‘calixarenes’ and nanostructural coating on sensation will be discussed. Lastly, we summarise fields of applications and future forecast for the utilisation of functionalised QCM surface as a chemical sensor to study the interaction of heavy metal ions with calixarenes.