Gastrointestinal stromal tumors（GIST）originate from gastrointestinal mesenchymal tissues，and most of them are secondary to KIT and platelet derived growth factor receptor alpha（PDGFRA）gene mutations. This discovery has a landmark significance for the basic research，clinical diagnosis and treatment of GIST. Genetic testing is widely used in many fields，such as identifying pathological diagnosis of GIST，judging prognosis and guiding targeted drug therapy. In recent years，numerous studies have shown that liquid biopsy techniques，including circulating tumor DNA（ctDNA）detection，have shown extremely important clinical values and broad application prospects for the diagnosis and treatment of GIST. This article reviews the value of ctDNA detection in the diagnosis and treatment of GIST.