Abstract: The GC/ECD method for the determination of total polychlorinated biphenyls （PCBs） in soil samples has been widely used　presently.Due to the complex matrix,large concentration ranges,and interferences from organochlorine pesticides in real soil samples,the present study attempts to optimize the sample pretreatment and instrumental analysis procedures of PCBs in soils.On the basis of US EPA method 8082,alkali Soxhlet extraction,clean up by acid wash and silica column,and dual-column GC/ECD analysis were employed in this study.Furthermore,multiple linear regression analysis was used for qualitatively identifying samples contaminated by Aroclor mixture,and external standard method was used for quantitatively analyzing total PCBs.The recoveries for total PCBs ranged from 80% to 90% based on the clean matrix spiked test.Method detection limit was 0.40 ng/g for the total PCBs.