Aptamers are speciifc nucleic acid sequences that can bind to a wide range of nucleic acid and non-nucleic acid targets with high afifnity and speciifcity. Nucleic acid aptamers are selected in vitro from single stranded DNA or RNA ligands containing random sequences of up to a few hundred nucleotides. Systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) was used to select and PCR amplify DNA sequences (aptamers) capable of binding to and detecting Listeria monocytogenes, one of the major food-borne pathogens. A simpliifed afifnity separation approach was employed, in which L. monocytogenes in exponential (log) phase of growth was used as the separation target. A lfuorescently-labeled aptamer assay scheme was devised for detecting L. monocytogenes. This report described a novel approach to the detection of L. monocytogenes using DNA aptamers. Aptamers were developed by nine rounds of SELEX. A high afifnity aptamer was successfully selected from the initial random DNA pool, and its secondary structure was also investigated. One of aptamers named e01 with the highest afifnity was further tested in aptamer-peroxidase and aptamer-lfuorescence staining protocols. This study has proved the principle that the whole-cell SELEX could be a promising technique to design aptamer-based molecular probes for dectection of pathogenic microorganisms without tedious isolation and puriifcation of complex markers or targets.