Abstract: A method for determining the manganese content in zinc and zinc alloys using potassium periodate spectrophotometry was designed and established. The sample was dissolved using sulfuric and nitric acids. In the presence of phosphoric acid, manganese( Ⅱ ) was oxidized to manganese( Ⅶ ) with potassium periodate. Then,manganese was determined at a wavelength of 525 nm using a spectrophotometer. The mass concentration of manganese has a good linear relationship with absorbance in the range of 0.50-10.0 μg/mL, with a linear correlation coefficient of 0.9998 and a detection limit of 0.012 μg/mL. The common coexisting elements do not interfere with the determination.The established method was applied to determine certified standard samples and known samples of zinc alloys with different manganese contents. The relative standard deviation of 10 repeated measurements was 0.48% to 1.63%. The average value is consistent with the standard value or known value. This method can be used for the determination of manganese content in zinc and zinc alloys and has the characteristics of simple operation, accuracy, and good selectivity.