An electrochemical sensor for the determination of rutin using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) is developed based on a novel beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) and reduced carbon nano-fragments (re-CNFs) hybrid-modified glassy carbon electrode (beta-CD/re-CNFs/GCE). The re-CNFs are synthesized by hydrothermally reducing the oxidized CNF suspension derived from the lithium-intercalated graphite, and then mixed with beta-CD and pasted on the GCE. The electrochemical reaction of rutin at the beta-CD/re-CNFs/GCE is shown to be a two-electron and two-proton reversible process. Compared to the re-CNFs/GCE and the GCE, the beta-CD/re-CNFs/GCE indicates an enhanced electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of rutin with about 1.69 and 4.03 times higher current response, respectively. Under the optimized conditions, the beta-CD/re-CNFs/GCE displays a linear peak current response toward the electrochemical oxidation of rutin in the concentration range of 3 x 10(-7) to 1.5 x 10(-5) mol L-1 with a detection limit of 9.0 x 10(-8) mol L-1 (S/N = 3). In addition, this beta-CD/re-CNFs/GCE exhibits other beneficial features including high selectivity, reproducibility and stability, and can be successfully applied to determine rutin in real sample with satisfied recovery. (C) 2013 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.