A first-derivative spectrophotometric method, using a 'zero-crossing' technique of measurement has been used for determining clopamide-pindolol mixture in tablets. In the first-derivative mode the zero-crossing points of clopamide and pindolol occur at 272.6 and 262.4 nm, respectively. The relative ease offered by this technique for the quantification of these drugs with closely overlapping bands was demonstrated. The linearity of the calibration curves was satisfactory (r = 0.9998) and the precision (RSD%) better than 1.89. Detection limits were 0.50 and 0.44 micrograms ml-1 for pindolol and clopamide, respectively. No spectral interferences from tablet excipients were found. Applications are given for the assay of commercial tablets and content uniformity test. The procedures proved to be suitable for rapid and reliable quality control.