The well-resolved absorption spectra of D-xylose, D-ribose, D-arabinose, D-lyxose and other related substances in the spectral region between 0.3 and 2.0 THz are measured using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) at 295 K. Comparing the absorption spectra of different chemicals, we can distinguish the samples easily. Thus THz-TDS is demonstrated to be a power and characteristic spectral tool, which is highly sensitive to the minor changes of the molecular structures and can be applied to detect and analyze similar materials.