Abstract: OBJECTIVE To establish a method using HPLC coupled with ELSD for determination of astragaloside IV in Sanhuang mixture and formulate a standard for qulity control. METHODS A Diamonsil C₁₈ column(200 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm) was used, acetonitrile-water (35∶65) was used as mobile phase and the flow rate was 1.0 mL·min^-1. The temperature of drift tube for ELSD was 95 ℃ and the flow rate of nitrogen was 3.0 L·min^-1. RESULTS The linear range for astragaloside IV was 0.25-5.00 μg (r=0.999 3), the RSDs of intra- and inter-day were less than 2.0%. CONCLUSION The method is simple, accurate and suitable for quality control of Sanhuang mixture.