Display omitted •Recent advances of coordination-based CPL emitters are reviewed.•The rational design strategies for CPL-active complexes are summarized.•The applications of CPL in sensing metal ions and nonmetal analytes are addressed.•This review provides valuable guidelines for further development of CPL-active complexes. Chiral systems emitting circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) have great potential in practical applications including but not limiting to 3D optical displays, information storage, advanced security materials and chiroptical sensors. CPL-active coordination compounds not only have relatively smaller molecular size than supramolecular systems but also exhibit higher CPL level than purely organic small molecules, which enables them to serve as favorable CPL-emitting materials for the expanded range of applications. Here, we discuss the recent advances of coordination-based CPL-active systems, including boron complexes and metal complexes, focusing on the summary and discussion of design strategies, as well as the applications in chiroptical sensing.