In the present study the utilization of a simple, rapid, and highly effective “turn-off” fluorescent sensor based on thiourea capped manganese doped zinc sulphide quantum dots for the detection of Cu2+ ions in water is described for the first time. The quantum dots are prepared by a simple and facile chemical precipitation method. The developed quantum dots are characterized by UV–vis., FT-IR, photoluminescence, XRD, and TEM techniques. The doping by manganese is confirmed by a peak at 598 nm in the PL spectrum. The sensor exhibit high sensitivity and selectivity towards copper ion at pH 9 with a limit of detection of 20.75 nM. The obtained results are also reasonable in real sample analysis.