The fundamental properties of one-dimensional (1D) carbon nanostructures and their promising technological applications have stimulated significant research in different areas. Because of their outstanding electrical and mechanical properties, these nanostructures have emerged as a new class of sensor material with real potential for a variety of nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS). Several studies have shown that the performance of a NEMS device is significantly affected by the material properties of the nanostructures used to build it. For this reason, a section of this review is devoted to the synthesis and properties of 1D carbon nanostructures including nanotubes, nanofibers, and nanowires. Thereafter, some NEMS-based sensors using 1D carbon nanostructures are introduced and issues related to their fabrication processes are addressed. The goal of this brief review is to outline the benefits of the use of 1D carbon nanostructures, the current status of development and challenges to enable their widespread application as sensing elements in NEMS devices.