OBJECTIVE：To establish a method for the content determination of sodium benzoate in Qiangli pipa syrup， and provide reference for improving the quality standard of preparation. METHODS： HPLC was performed on the column of ShimadzuVP-ODS C18 with mobile phase of methanol-0.02％ ammonium acetate （15 ∶ 85，V/V） at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min，the detection wavelength was 224 nm， column temperature was 40℃， and the injection volume was 5 μl. The method was used to determine the content of sodium benzoate in 56 batches of Qiangli pipa syrup from 21 manufacturers. RESULTS：The linear range of sodium benzoate was 0.005 24-1.048 00 mg/ml（r＝0.999 9）； RSDs of precision， stability and reproducibility tests were no more than 1.10％； recovery was 98.6％-101.7％ （RSD＝1.2％，n＝6）. It showed big difference in the content of sodium benzoate in the 56 batches of Qiangli pipa syrup， but it generally met the requirements of syrups in Chinese Pharmacopoeia （2015 edition， VolⅣ）. CONCLUSIONS： The method is simple， rapid， accurate and reliable with good reproducibility， and can be used for the content determination of sodium benzoate in Qiangli pipa syrup. Determination results of sampling show it is necessary to update the formulation content detection projects to strengthen their quality control.