A comparison of the feasibilities of adulteration detection for chondroitin sulfate using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy(THz-TDS)and infrared spectroscopy(IR) was conducted. The shark-derived chondroitin sulfate (SCS) mixed with sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP) adulteration was used as the materials for detection in this research. The results have shown that the spectra of SHMP, SCS and the adulterated samples of them were significantly different in either THz-TDS spectra or IR spectra, indicating that these two spectroscopic techniques have a potential for the identification of chondroitin sulfate adulteration. The lowest adulteration ratios(mass to mass)of SHMP to SCS which can be identified were 1: 15 and 1: 1 for THz-TDS and IR, respectively. THz-TDS is more sensitive in the detection performance than IR and is superior to IR for the detection of SCS adulteration. This study has provided an experimental foundation for developing an accurate, rapid and nondestructive spectroscopic technique which can be used to identify the adulteration of SHMP in SCS.