The common eluents used with a bifunctional ion-exchange column (IonPac CS5A) for separating transition metals are pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid and oxalic acid (Ox). When Ox is used, cadmium and manganese co-elute. Although much 21 21 research has been done to overcome the Cd -Mn co-elution problem, the role of lithium hydroxide in separating the transition metals has received little attention. In this study, it is found that when the Ox concentration is higher than 35 mM, allows the separation of seven metals (Cu , Pb , Co , Mn , Cd , Zn and Ni ) in a single run. The effects of inorganic modifiers such as NaNO , Na SO and Na P O on retention behavior of the metals are also investigated.