Signal amplification-based fluorescent methods combine the advantages of both fluorescence detection and signal amplification strategy. Recently, they have gained increasing attention in nucleic acid detection due to their high efficiency, easy read-out, and real-time monitoring. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in signal amplification-based fluorescent methods for microRNAs assay, and focus on five categories including strand displacement amplification (SDA), rolling circle amplification (RCA), exonuclease-assisted signal amplification, duplex specific nuclease (DSN)-assisted signal amplification, and enzyme-free signal amplification. We highlight their future direction as well.