To establish a rapid,sensitive and specific method of TaqMan-based real-time PCR assay for detection of salmonella, based on the gene sequence of salmonella from GenBank(accession no. AE016841), the specific primers and probes were designed in the conserved regions of the fimY gene by using the biologic software. The specificity of the sequences were tested by BLAST search in GenBank. This assay was applied to the S.typhimurium and 60 food samples to test its specificity, sensitivity and repeatability, compared with those of the regular bacterial culture and the culture on CH ROMager plate. The assay was proved to be highly specific to salmonella, the sensitivity was 102 CFU/ml,and it only took 24 hours to complete the whole assay. It is concluded that the TaqMan-based real-time PCR assay is a rapid, sensitive and specific method for the detection of salmonella..