A general overview of the development of the uses of light-emitting diodes in analytical instrumentation is given. Fundamental aspects of light-emitting diodes, as far as relevant for this usage, are covered in the first part. The measurement of light intensity is also discussed, as this is an essential part of any device based on light-emitting diodes as well. In the second part, applications are discussed, which cover liquid and gas-phase absorbance measurements, flow-through detectors for chromatography and capillary electrophoresis, sensors, as well as some less often reported methods such as photoacoustic spectroscopy.