Metal complexation and tandem mass spectrometry were used to differentiate C-and O-bonded flavonoid monoglucoside isomers. Electrospray ionization of solutions containing a flavonoid glycoside and a metal salt led to the generation of the key [M(II) (L) (L-H)] ϩ complexes, where M is the metal ion and L is the flavonoid glycoside. Thirteen flavonoid monoglucosides were examined in combination with Ca(II), Mg(II), Co(II), Ni(II), and Cu(II). Collisional activated dissociation (CAD) of the [M(II) (L) (L-H)] ϩ complexes resulted in diagnostic mass spectra, in contrast to the CAD mass spectra of the protonated, deprotonated, and sodium-cationized flavonoid glucosides. Five common sites of glycosylation could be predicted based on the fragmentation patterns of the flavonoid glucoside/magnesium complexes, while flavonoid glucoside/calcium complexes also were effective for location of the glycosylation site when MS 3 was employed. Cobalt, nickel and copper complexation had only limited success in this application. The metal complexation methods were also applied for characterization of a flavonoid rhamnoside, and the dissociation pathways of the metal complexes indicate that flavonoid rhamnosides have distinctive dissociation features from flavonoid glucosides. (J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 2004, 15, 1287-1299