A paper-based pressure sensor constructed by sandwiching a piezoresistive film between two pieces of paper substrates with silver electrodes is reported in this work. The resulting devices exhibited rapid response and recovery speed, and the response and recovery times were 0.6 s and 0.2 s, respectively, under a pressure of approximately 1.5 kPa. In addition, the device can be especially sensitive to pressures less than 3 kPa. Finally, the devices were used to monitor physiological signals, including the motions of fingers, vocal cord vibration and wrist pulse. The advantages of paper-based devices, such as low cost, portability and flexibility, will have great potential for expanding the application of resultant sensors in wearable medical devices.