In this study, we demonstrated a highly sensitive electrochemical sensor for the determination of bisphenol A (BPA) in aqueous solution by using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs)/beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) conjugate (SWCNT-CD) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The cyclic voltammetry results show that the modified GCE exhibits strong catalytic activity toward the oxidation of BPA with a well-defined cyclic voltammetric peak at 0.543 V. The response current exhibits a linear range between 10.8 nM and 18.5 mu M with a high sensitivity (1256 mu A mM(-1)). The detection limit of BPA is 1.0 nM (S/N =3). The enhanced performance of the fabricated sensor can be attributed to the combination of the excellent electrocatalytic properties of SWCNTs and the molecular recognition ability of beta-CD. The sensor was successfully applied to determine BPA leached from real plastic samples with good recovery, ranging from 95% to 103%. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.