This paper reports the development of a new strategy for low-level determination of copper in water samples by using a flow-injection system coupled to solid-phase extraction (SPE) using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (F AAS) as detector. In order to preconcentrate copper from samples, a minicolumn packed with a styrene-divinylbenzene resin functionalized with (S)-2-[hydroxy-bis-(4-vinyl-phenyl)-methyl]-pyrrolidine-1-carboxylic acid ethyl ester was used and the synthesis procedure is described. System operation is based on the on-line retention of Cu(II) ions at pH 9.0+/-0.2 in a such minicolumn with posterior analyte elution with 2moll(-1) HCl directly to the F AAS nebulizer. The influence of several chemical (sample pH, buffer concentration, HCl eluent concentration and effect of the ionic strength) and flow (sample and eluent flow rates and preconcentration time) variables that could affect the performance of this system were investigated as well as the possible interferents. At optimized conditions, for 2min of preconcentration time (13.2ml of sample volume), the system achieved a detection limit of 1.1mugl(-1), a R.S.D. 1% at 20muggl(-1) and an analytical throughput of 25h(-1), whereas for 4min of preconcentration time (26.4ml of sample volume), a detection limit of 0.93mugl(-1), a R.S.D. 5.3% at 5mugl(-1) and a sampling frequency of 13h(-1) were reported.