A simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of glycyrrhizin in rabbit plasma has been developed. Up to 0.1 ml of plasma containing glycyrrhizin was deproteinized by acetonitrile, which contained an internal standard (indomethacin). The supernatant was injected onto a LiChrospher RP-18 column using a methanol-water-ammonia solution (80:20:0.1, v/v, pH 3.0-3.2, adjusted with perchloric acid) as the mobile phase and ultraviolet detection at 254 nm, followed by ultraviolet spectrum identification (between 200 and 380 nm) with a photodiode-array detector. The method is rapid, easily reproduced, selective and sensitive. It was applied to pharmacokinetic studies of glycyrrhizin in rabbit, after a 2 mg/kg intravenous administration. A biphasic phenomenon with a rapid distribution followed by a slower elimination phase was observed from the plasma concentration-time curve. Compartmental analysis yielded a two-compartment model.