Autonomous’ exploration is an important part of mobile robots. In an unknown environment, if a mobile robot wants to complete a task, the robot must be able to explore the environment. This paper proposes a new exploration strategy based on the wavefront algorithm. The wavefront algorithm is used to find the closest frontier point in very short time for the mobile robot. After determining the next frontier point, the mobile robot moves to the frontier point according to the path planned by the wavefront algorithm, which is the shortest. The exploration task is completed when there are no frontier points in the map. Finally, the exploration strategy is tested using the Robot Operating System (ROS). Simulation experiments show that the exploration based on the wavefront algorithm can find the frontier points rapidly and ensure the integrity of the exploration environment.