Glucosinolates are a group of nitrogen- and sulfur-containing plant natural products found mainly in the order Capparales, which includes the Brassicaceae family. Glucosinolates and their breakdown products exhibit a variety of biological activities. Recently, there is strong interest in the regulation of glucosinolate biosynthesis, the cross talk between glucosinolate metabolism and other metabolic pathways, and the interactions between glucosinolate metabolism and the environment. In this review, we discuss the effect of abiotic environmental factors on glucosinolate metabolism. The abiotic factors include temperature, light, water, sulfur nutrition, CO2 concentration and heavy metals.