Determination of low molecular weight organic acids in soils and plants by capillary zone electrophoresis was accomplished using a phthalate buffer and indirect UV detection mode. The influence of some crucial parameters, such as pH, buffer concentration and surfactant were investigated. A good separation of seven organic acids was achieved within 5min using an electrolyte containing 15mmolL1 potassium hydrogen phthalate, 0.5mmolL1 myristyltrimethylammonium bromide (MTAB), and 5% methanol (MeOH) (v/v) at pH5.60, separation voltage 20kV, and temperature 25C. The relative standard deviation (n=5) of the method was found to be in range 0.180.56% for migration time and 3.24.8% for peak area. The limit of detection ranged between 0.5molL1 to 6molL1 at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The recovery of standard organic acids added to real samples ranged from 87 to 119%. This method was simple, rapid and reproducible, and could be applied to the simultaneous determination of organic acids in environmental samples.