An improved method, based on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) for detection of amylase activity is described. This method will allow better characterization of certain amylases than that obtained by the Davis technique. The main features of the technique are: (i) identification of amylase bands and molecular mass determination are possible in the same gel; (ii) the hydrolysis of copolymerized substrate during electrophoretic separation is prevented using very low temperatures instead of inactivating agents such as chelating agents; and (iii) the technique is applicable to reveal amylase activity in a wide range of biological samples. The method is not useful for enzymes sensitive to SDS and for high molecular mass amylases.