A new tris(2-aminoethyl) amine (TREN) functionalized silica gel (SG-TREN) was prepared and investigated for selective solid-phase extraction (SPE) of trace Cr(III), Cd(II) and Pb(II) prior to its determination by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Identification of the surface modification was characterized and performed on the basis of FF-IR. The separation/preconcentration conditions of analytes were investigated, including effects of pH, the shaking time, the sample flow rate and volume, the elution condition and the interfering ions. At pH 4, the maximum adsorption capacity of Cr(HI), Cd(H) and Pb(H) onto the SG-TREN were 32.72, 36.42 and 64.61 mg g- 1, respectively. The adsorbed metal ions were quantitatively eluted by 5 mL of 0. 1 mol L' HCL Common coexisting ions did not interfere with the separation. According to the definition of International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, the detection limits (3(y) of this method for Cr(III), Cd(H) and Pb(H) were 0.61, 0.14 and 0.55 ng mL-1, respectively. The relative standard deviation under optimum conditions is, less than 4.0% (17 = 11). The application of this modified silica gel to preconcentration trace Cr(HI), Cd(H) and Pb(II) of two water samples gave high accurate and precise results. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.