A simple, precise and accurate method is proposed for rapid determination of trace amounts of hydroxylamine based on the reaction of hydroxylamine with iodate in acidic media. The reaction of neutral red by the produced nitrite ion was used to monitor the reaction spectrophotometrically at 525 nm by a fixed time method. Hydroxylamine in the range of 0.0400-1.200 microg mL(-1) could be determined. The relative standard deviation for 10 determinations of 0.500 microg mL(-1) hydroxylamine was 1.81% and the limit of detection was 0.010 microg mL(-1). The proposed method was applied to the determination of hydroxylamine in water samples with satisfactory results.