Prehospital emergency care is the primary stage in the treatment of critically ill patients, where efficient and accurate monitoring methods are crucial for patient survival and prognosis. End-tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO2) monitoring is a real-time, non-invasive method that can sensitively capture the status of respiratory, circulatory, and metabolic functions, particularly in the urgent and complex pre-hospital environment, a immediate detection and non-invasive method, can sensitively capture the respiratory, circulatory, and metabolic status of patients. It provides valuable guidance for rapid decision-making and precise interventions. This is particularly valuable in the complex and urgent prehospital environment, providing critical data for rapid decision-making and precise intervention. This paper systematically reviews the advancements in the application of EtCO2 monitoring across various fields, including sepsis identification, trauma assessment, cardiac arrest, respiratory critical care, endotracheal intubation confirmation, and management of metabolic diseases, aiming to explore its application value and prospects in pre-hospital emergency care.