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Cell death can destroy homeostasis and is a hallmark of many pathological conditions. Discrimination of live and dead cells is a crucial task for the biological, medical and pharmaceutical studies. Herein, we constructed an ESIPT-based fluorescent probe (BTE) on the basis of the different esterase activity in live and dead cells. Under excitation, the probe BTE showed the blue emission peaked at 465 nm, while it mainly displayed green emission peaked at 543 nm after it was hydrolyzed by esterase. Imaging of the cells treated by H 2 O 2 and ultraviolet (UV) radiation demonstrated that the probe BTE is effective in the detection of the health of cells, could help us to better understand cell death and its effects in a range of diseases and treatments. Unlabelled Image • Discrimination of live and dead cells in a ratiometric mode. • Response of the probe to esterase on the basis of ESIPT • Image the unhealthy status the cells treated with H 2 O 2 • Analysis the damage of ultraviolet UV radiation to live cells [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]