Irreducible spherical tensor analysis can be used to select both the order and the rank of tensor componenets of the density matrix. This procedure was demonstrated for a collection of dipolar-coupled spin I = 1/2 nuclei. In this work we adapt this approach for quadrupolar nuclei. We demonstrate this technique using the I = 7/2 NMR spectra from Cs-133 in an anisotropic phase. The separation of all possible ranks is shown. In this form the experiment can be useful in the analysis of both coherent and dissipative dynamics of quadrupolar nuclei. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.