Al3+ plays an indispensable role in different physiological processes. However, excess Al3+ is destructive to health. Here, a diarylethene-based fluorescent sensor (1O) was synthesized by attaching a hydrazide group to diarylethene moiety through Schiff base structure. In acetonitrile, 1O displayed excellent selectivity and sensitivity to Al3+. The fluorescence intensity increased by 70-fold and accompanied by the color of the solution changed from dark to blue with the addition of Al3+. Further, the potential response mechanism of 1O toward Al3+ was proposed and verified by 1H NMR titrations and mass spectrometry analysis, the stoichiometric ratios of the sensor with Al3+ appeared to be 1:1 with the detection limit of 0.073 μM. In addition, 1O has been successfully applied to the detection of Al3+ in real water samples, and it also has successfully designed as molecular logic circuit and test strips.