A display substrate includes a base substrate, and a plurality of light emitters and a plurality of light sensors over the base substrate. The light emitters and light sensors are configured to respectively emit lights towards, and sense lights reflected by, a pattern to be detected, such as a fingerprint. At least one light emitter includes a first electrode, a light-emitting layer, and a second electrode, sequentially over the base substrate. At least one light sensor includes a third electrode, a photosensitive layer, and a fourth electrode, sequentially over the base substrate. The first electrode and the third electrode are integral or the second electrode and the fourth electrode are integral. A method of using the display substrate to identify a pattern such as a fingerprint can be employed by a display panel containing the display substrate.