OBJECTIVE：To establish a method for the determination of nickel residues in flurbiprofen axetil API. METHODS： Flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry （FAAS） was conducted， the samples were directly determined by the dissolution of anhydrous ethanol. The detection wavelength was 232.0 nm； lamp electricity was 12 mA；acetylene flow was 1.6 L/min； air flow was 15 L/min； slit width was 0.2 nm； the burner height was 7 mm. RESULTS： The linear range of nickel was 0-3 μg/ml（r＝0.998 4）； detection limit was 0.03 μg/ml； RSDs of precision and reproducibility tests were lower than 1％； recovery was 96.81％-100.90％（RSD＝1.3％，n＝9）. CONCLUSIONS：The method is simple with good precision， accurate and reliable， and suitable for the determination of nickel residues in flurbiprofen axetil API.