A capillary electrophoresis(CE) method was established for the simultaneous separation and determination of seven preservatives in cosmetics,including methyl p hydroxybenzoate,ethyl p-hydroxybenzoate,propyl p hydroxybenzoate,butyl p hydroxybenzoate,chlorophenylglycol,octanoyl valerate and sodium dehydroacetate.Effects of different electrophoresis conditions,including type and concentration of additive,pH value of the running buffer and separation voltage on separation were investigated.The optimal conditions were follows:additive:10 mmol/L sulfobutyl-β-cyclodextrin,buffer:pH 8.0 20 mmol/L phosphate buffer,separate voltage:20 kV,detection wavelength:280 nm.Results showed that,under the optimal conditions,seven preservatives could reach the baseline separation within 5 min.The calibration curves were linear in the concentration range of 5-200 mg/L,with correlation coefficients(r) of 0.990 7-0998 9.The detection limits were in the range of 123-430 mg/L,and the relative standard deviations(RSD) for migration time were not more than 1.3%.Average recoveries for the spiked samples were in the range of 95.4%-103%.The method is accurate,simple,efficient and practical,and could be applied in the determination of seven preservatives in actual samples.