The invention discloses an application of a rhodamine B based fluorescence sensor which can specifically detect tin ions. According to the application, benzyl 3-(3', 6'-bis(diethyl amino)-3-oxo-spiro [isoindoline-1, 9'-xanthene]-2-yl) ethyl propionate is taken as a substrate, different heavy metal ions such as MgCl2*6H2O, SnCl2*H2O, CrCl3*6H2O, AgNO3, CaCl2, NaCl, PbCl2, KCl, MnCl2*4H2O, ZnCl2, CuCl2*2H2O, LiCl*H2O, Ba(NO3)2, HgCl2, CoCl2, FeCl2*4H2O, FeCl3*6H2O, CdCl2*2.5H2O, AlCl3 and the like are added, and fluorescent response is found only when SnCl2*H2O is added, so that the fluorescence sensor which can specifically detect tin ions is developed. The sensor has the advantages of high specificity and sensitivity and the like and has important application potentials in the aspects of disease diagnosis and health evaluation.