OBJECTIVE:To establish a method for determination of trace platinum in zolpidem tartrate. METHODS: Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) was adopted for direct determination after dissolving sample in 1% Hydrochloric acid solution. Horizontal platform graphite tube was performed with detection wavelength of 244.79 nm, slit width of 0.2 nm and current intensity of hollow cathode lamp of 6 mA. The mode of background correction was zeeman effect, the peak height was used as measurement pattern, and the injection volume was 20 μl. RESULTS: The linear range of platinum was 0-100 ng/ml (r=0.999 0); RSDs of precision and reproducibility tests were no more than 2.0%; recovery was 97.78%-103.07% (RSD=1.6%,n=9); the detection limit was 1.48 ng/ml. CONCLUSIONS: This method is simple and rapid with good precision and accuracy, and can be applied for the determination of trace platinum in zolpidem tartrate.