Four simple and accurate methods are presented for the determination of meloxicam in dosage forms. These methods are based on: the direct measurements of the differential spectra at 339.9-384.7 nm (A), the 1D-values at 322-368 nm and 2D-values at 343.2-385.6 nm (B), the formation of an ion-association complex between the drug and safranin T with subsequent absorption measurement at 518 nm (C) and fluorescence measurement at 582 nm (D). All variables were studied to optimize the formation of the ion-association complex. Beer's law was valid over the concentration range 2-10 microg ml(-1) (method A), 1-10 microg ml(-1) (method B), 4.0-12 microg ml(-1) (method C) and 0.4-1.2 microg ml(-1) (method D). The detection limits were 0.11, 0.07, 0.10, 0.33 and 8.74 x 10(-3) microg ml(-1) for methods A, B, C and D, respectively. The proposed methods were successfully applied to the assay of meloxicam in tablets and suppositories. The procedures were rapid, simple and suitable for quality control applications.