A new direct flow injection chemiluminescence method is proposed for the determination of salicylamide, based upon the oxidation of the drug by potassium permanganate in dilute sulphuric acid. The calibration graph is linear over the range 20ngml - 1 (30 limit of detection)-8μgml - 1 salicylamide, with a relative standard deviation (n=50, 0.5μgml - 1 ) of 1.7%. The average sample insertion rate is 142h - 1 . The influence of relevant foreign compounds is found to be relatively slight. The method is applied to the determination of salicylamide in a pharmaceutical formulation and human urine.