A method for determining 55 elements in human lung tissue was developed. Mixed acid (HNO3:HCl04) was added into samples, which were digested at room temperature over night, then heated at 180 degrees C. Arsenic and selenium in lung tissue were determined by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS), potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium were determined by atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS), while the rest of forty-eight elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), respectively. Reference materials of GBW(E)080193 bovine hepar and GBWO9101 human hair were analyzed by the described method. The measured element values in two reference materials accorded with their reference values. The recovery rates for most of the studied elements were 90%-110%. The precisions of the method were 1.7%-10.0%. The concentrations of seventeen elements in the carcinomatous tissues were remarkably different from those in the pericarcinomatous tissues. The method is rapid, simple and accurate.