The present study focuses on the preparation of an Cd(2+)-imprinted poly(ethylene glycol dimethacrylate-co-vinylimidazole) for selective extraction/preconcentration of Cd(2+) ions from aqueous solution, with further determination by FAAS using a flow system Sorbent extraction/preconcentration system was optimized by using chemometric tools (factorial design and Doehlert matrix). Under optimized conditions, the method presented a limit of detection of 0.11 mu g L(-1) and linear analytical curve from 1.0 up to 50 0 mu g L(-1) (r = 0.993). The preconcentration factor (PF), consumptive index (CI) and concentration efficiency (CE) were found to be 38.4, 0.39 mL and 14 3 min(-1), respectively. The selectivity coefficient of ion imprinted polymer was compared with the selectivity coefficient of NIP (non-imprinted polymer) for the Cd(2+)/Pb(2+), Cd(2+)/Cu(2+) and Cd(2+)/Zn(2+) binary mixtures, where the respective values of relative selectivity coefficient (k') of 1575, 4.44 and 1.38 were obtained. The proposed method was successfully applied for cadmium determination in different types of water samples, urine and certified reference material (Lobster Hepatopancreas). Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved