Abstract: In order to carry out a simple and rapid determination of gold (Au) in geochemical samples, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS) was used after the samples were dissolved in aqua regia and adsorbed by foam plastic. The optimization of the prectreatment process and determination process of the instrument were also discussed. The detection limit was 0.014 ng/g, and the spiked recoveries were in the range of 91%~102%, through the verification using the national standard sample the method meets the requirements of the analysis. The results coincide with the recommended values. The RSD were between 3.3% and 9.4%. The method is suitable for the detection of gold in geochemical exploration samples.