In this work, the gold nanorods - copper oxide nanocomposites (Au NRs-CuO nanocomposites) is fabricated via a facile seed mediated followed by copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) in situ deposition, in which the CuO NPs coating Au NRs like a film. The synthesized nanocomposites was characterized by advanced microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. The biosensing properties of Au NRs-CuO nanocomposites toward glucose were studied based on electrochemical methods. Electrochemical studies indicated that the obtained Au NRs-CuO nanocomposites showed excellent electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of glucose compared with CuO NPs. The enhanced performance was related to the synergetic catalytic effect of Au NRs and CuO NPs. At an oxidation potential of + 0.43 V, the current response of the Au NRs-CuO nanocomposites modified glassy carbon electrode (Au NRs-CuO/GCE) presented a good linear relation with the glucose concentration in the range of 0.01 mmol/L (mM) to 9.35 mM. Furthermore, it also showed fast response (< 2 s), a low detection limit of 2.57 innol/L (M), good anti-toxicity, good stability and reproducible results. Hence, the Au NRs-CuO nano composites are promising candidate for the preparation of modified electrodes and electrochemical sensors.