Pathogens are one of the leading causes of death globally. Early detection of pathogens seems to be necessary. Detection of bacteria and harmful viruses like severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in a fast manner is very critical for early diagnosis of infections to prevent spreading. Current tools for the detection of pathogens are challenging in terms of specificity, rapidity, and simplicity. For this purpose, biosensors have shown advances in rapid diagnosis, high sensitivity, and selectivity detection of pathogens. Nanoparticles-based biosensors are very useful in detecting pathogens due to their capability to provide a simple, rapid, and specific colour changes in response to environmental alternations. Functionalised gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are highly accurate and sensitive biosensors for the detection of a wide range of pathogens. This review summarises optical and non-optical AuNPs biosensors for the detection of pathogens. Moreover, we focus on technologies that aim to detect pathogens using AuNPs-based biosensor and some representative examples.