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An immobilization-free electrochemical impedance biosensor for microRNA detection was developed in this work, which was based on both the duplex-specific nuclease assisted target recycling (DSNATR) and capture probes (Cps) enriched from the solution to electrode surface via magnetic beads (MBs). In the absence of miR-21, Cps cannot be hydrolyzed due to the low activity of duplex-specific nuclease (DSN) against ssDNA. Therefore, the intact Cps could be attached to the surface of magnetic glass carbon electrode (MGCE), resulting in a compact negatively charged layer as well as a large charge-transfer resistance. While in the presence of miR-21, it hybridized with Cp to form a DNA–RNA heteroduplex. Due to the considerable cleavage preference for DNA in DNA–RNA hybrids, DSN hydrolyzed the target-binding part of the Cp while liberating the intact miR-21 to hybridize with a new Cp and initiate the second cycle of hydrolysis. In this way, a single miR-21 was able to trigger the permanent hydrolysis of multiple Cps. Finally, all Cps were digested. Thus, the negatively charged layer could not be formed, resulting in a small charge-transfer resistance. By employing the above strategy, the proposed biosensor achieved ultrahigh sensitivity toward miR-21 with a detection limit of 60 aM. Meanwhile, the method showed little cross-hybridization among the closely related miRNA family members even at the single-base-mismatched level. Successful attempts were made in applying the approach to detect miR-21 in human serum samples of breast cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]