A new optode membrane for the sensitive and selective determination of thiocyanate ion, based on a change in the absorption spectrum of a polymer film, is proposed. A membrane composed of plasticized poly vinyl chloride (PVC), an Fe(III) Schiff-base complex as a chromoionophore and hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (HDTMABr) as a cationic additive was prepared. The influence of different plasticizers was studied concerning the sensitivity, linear range and selectivity of the membrane film. Satisfactory analytical sensing characteristics for determining thiocyanate ion were obtained in terms of the selectivity, reversibility and reproducibility with a good detecting range. In addition, the optical film responds to thiocyanate ion reversibly over a wide dynamic range 1.0 x 10(-8) to 1.0 x 10(-3) M with fast response and recovery times. The optode membrane has been applied to determine the thiocyanate ion in urine samples.