Two water-soluble carbazole-based two-photon fluorescent (TPF) probes (class="boldFont">HCH and class="boldFont">HCM) for ClO− detection were developed with rapid response, high selectivity and large two-photon absorption cross sections, which utilized the oxidative dehydrogenation of oxime to the nitrile oxide. It is found that the alkyl substituent groups in the cationic pyridinium moieties could affect the one-/two-photon luminescent properties of probes, and class="boldFont">HCH was more suitable for ClO− detection than class="boldFont">HCM thanks to the better stability of fluorescence, larger fluorescence enhancement folds and two-photon absorption cross sections for class="boldFont">HCHclass="glyphImg imgLazyJSB">CNO, the corresponding product of class="boldFont">HCH toward ClO−. Bio-imaging study revealed that class="boldFont">HCH could be used to detect ClO− in living cells under two-photon excitation, and co-staining experiments of class="boldFont">HCH and MitoTracker Red FM (co-localization coefficient: 0.90) established that class="boldFont">HCH was predominantly present in mitochondria.