Porous noble metal nanostructures are a class of new-type multi-functional nanostructures, which have unique optical, electrical and catalytic properties, due to their unique interior, porous walls and adjustable morphology. How to regulate the size, morphology, arrangement and spatial orientation of porous noble metal nanomaterials is critical for their applications in Raman spectroscopy, biosensing, etc. Some novel porous nanostructures, which are difficult to prepare by other methods, can be obtained easily by template methods. The synthesis of products can be guided by the pre-structures which match the nanoscale characteristics of target products. Based on the diversity of templates, the pore diameter, size and composition of porous noble metal nanostructures can be conveniently adjusted to fully develop the advantages of noble metals. In this review, we summarize a series of template methods for the synthesis of porous noble metal nanostructures, and the advantages and disadvantages of these methods are discussed. Furthermore, the applications of porous noble metal nanostructures in biological detection fields are also briefly discussed.