A highly sensitive and selective method is described for the determination of trace amounts of nitrite based on its effect on the oxidation of carminic acid with bromate. The reaction was monitored spectrophotometrically by measuring the decrease in absorbance of carminic acid at 490 nm after 3 min of mixing the reagents. The optimum reaction conditions were 1.8x10(-1) mol l(-1) H(2)SO(4), 3.8x10(-3) mol l(-1) KBrO(3), and 1.2x10(-4) mol l(-1) carminic acid at 30 degrees C. By using the recommended procedure, the calibration graph was linear from 0.2 to 14 ng ml(-1) of nitrite; the detection limit was 0.04 ng ml(-1); the R.S.D. for six replicate determinations of 6 ng ml(-1) was 1.7%. The method is mostly free from interference, especially from large amounts of nitrate and ammonium ions. The proposed method was applied to the determination of nitrite in rain and river water.