Abstract: The contents of ten trace elements of lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, chromium, selenium, copper, iron, manganese and nickel in soft capsules were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) with microwave digestion to fit the safety limits of China, and the analytical conditions were optimized. The results show that the linear ranges are 0.10 μg/L for mercury and 0.50 μg/L for the other elements with well the linear relationship, and the correlative coefficients are 0.999 4-0.999 9. The detection limits of the method are 0.011-0.21 μg/kg. The relative standard derivations (RSDs) are in the range of 1.2%-5.7%. The average recoveries at three levels are between 90.0% and 110.0%. The standard material NRCDOLT-3 Horn shark liver and GBW10017 milk powder are analyzed by the method, and the measured element values are in accord with the standard values. The method is suitable for the determination of trace elements in different matrix soft capsules.