Characteristic south China herbal medicine samples were digested by microwave system with nitric acid,and 17 kinds of elements,such as Al,As,Hg,Ca,Cu,Cr,Pb and Zn,etc in the digestion solutions were simultaneously analyzed by microwave plasma atomic emission spectrometry(MP-AES) with multi-mode sample introduction system(MSIS) under the optimized reductant concentration,to investigate the contents of these elements in south herbal medicines.Result showed that MP-AES had good detection limits for metal elements,and the analytical results of elements in two kinds of standard material were consistent with the analytical results of ICP-MS and the standard values,except for As,Hg,Sb and Se that were undetected.The detection limits of the method were 0.05-0.53 μg/g for the metal elements,and 0.93-5.40 μg/g for elements that could generate the vapor with hydride.In these south China herbal medicine samples,concentrations of Cd and Cu were below the limit values of Chinese Pharmacopoeia,contents of Cr and Pb exceeded the limits of European herbs,but the detection limits of As and Hg needed to decrease for quality control of herbs.The method could meet the analysis requirements of some elements in the south China herbal medicine because of its low detection limit,wide linear range,accuracy,rapid analysis and simultaneous multi-element analysis.