Paclitaxel, an anticancer drug was electrochemically studied in phosphate buffer at different pH using graphite pencil electrode. For analytical purpose, a well resolved irreversible diffusion controlled voltammetric peak was obtained in pH 7 phosphate buffer solution of ionic strength 0.2 M at 1.214V for cyclic voltammetry. According to the linear relationship between the peak current and the paclitaxel concentration, differential pulse voltammetric method was developed for its quantitative determination in pharmaceuticals and human biological fluids. The linear response was obtained in the range of 4.0 x 10(-7) to 3.0 x 10(-6) M with a detection limit of 2.46 x 10(-9) M. Precision and accuracy of the developed method was checked by recovery studies. The proposed method was successfully applied to the individual injection dosage form and human biological fluids. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.