Objective To evaluate the method for detection of urinary mercury using a Zeeman atomic absorption mercury analyzer and to provide a reference for selecting a convenient method for mercury detection in experiments and clinical diagnoses. Methods Urinary mercury was detected by Zeeman atomic absorption spectroscopy (ZAAS) and hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry ( HG-AAS), and the detection limit, accuracy, precision and consistency of the two methods were compared. Results The Data collected by ZAAS and HG-AAS showed a good linear relationship in the range of 0 - 1000 ng/ mL (ZASS, R²= 1.0000) and 0 - 20 ng/ mL (HG-AAS, R² = 0.9990). The detection limits of ZAAS was 0.156 ng/ mL and that of HG-AAS was 1.593 ng/ mL, indicating that ZAAS is more sensitive. The recovery rate of standard addition of ZAAS was between 97.5% and 103.2%, and that of HG?AAS was between 95.6% and 104.5%. After measurement of 10 ng/ mL and 100 ng/ mL mercury standard solutions repeated for 10 times, the relative standard deviation (RSD) of ZAAS was 0.30% and 0.36% respectively, and the RSD of HG-AAS was 2.82% and 1.11%, respectively. The accuracy and precision of both the two method met the standards of GBZ/ T 210.5 - 2008, and the precision of ZAAS was better. A total of 30 urine samples were measured by these two methods . The results were compared with paired-samples t-test and showed a non-significant difference ( P > 0.05), indicating a high consistency of these two method (R² = 0.9961). Conclusions ZAAS is a convenient and accurate method for the detection of urinary mercury, with a relatively low detection limit and better precision.