A method was established for the determination of trace impurities in high purity tellurium (Te) 99.9999 (6N) by radio frequency glow discharge optical emission spectrometry (RF-GDOES). The optimized parameters are power, argon pressure, pre-integration time, analysis time and selection of wavelength. Nine elements Se, Ca, Mg, Si, Fe, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb were analysed in 6N Te, out of which only three elemental peaks (Se, Ca, and Mg) were detected and the remaining six elements ( Si, Fe, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb) were below detection levels. Finally, the method was evaluated by the analysis of the above traces using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and was found to be satisfactory. The detection limits for most of the elements were below 10 ng/g and R.S.D. was around 10%, which indicated that this method could fully satisfy the requirements for the trace analysis in high purity Te metal.