Abstract: Coal ash samples were decomposed by alkali fusion with lithium metaborate and the melted beads were dissolved with 5% aqua regia. Sample solutions were then determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) with Cd as internal standard. The detection limits for the elements were 0.0027%~0.0567% and the recoveries of the method were 96.07%~107.0% with precision of 0.79%~2.21%RSD (n=10). The reliability of the method has been tested by determination of the elements in National Standard Reference materials and the results are in agreement with the certified values. The method also has been applied to the simultaneous determination of multi-components in coal ash samples with satisfactory results.