Abstract. Critical assessment of the processes affecting the atomization of silver in graphite tube helped to develop a precise and reliable method applicable for interpretation of the silver content in telluride materials in relation to their thermoelectric coefficients. While milligram samples of bismuth telluride were easily dissolved in dilute nitric acid, for samples of bismuth antimony telluride an addition of hydrochloric acid was necessary. Tartaric acid was then added, not only to prevent hydrolysis but also to serve as a chemical modifier in graphite furnace AAS determination of Ag at 328.1 nm. Over the range of 0.5 to 7.5 ng ml -1 of Ag the linear calibrations were obtained with a good and long-run reproducibility. A 3σ limit of detection for 20 µl aliquots was of the order of 0.1 ng ml -1 .