A sensitive fluorimetric method for the determination of berberine in aqueous solution was proposed. It is found that the fluorescence intensity of berberine is greatly enhanced by sodium dodecyl sulphate surfactants. Based on this, a sensitive fluorimetric method for the determination of berberine is proposed. Under the optimum experimental conditions the fluorescence intensity of berberine is proportional to the concentration of berberine in the range of 2.4 X 10-8 to 1.9 x 10-5 M and the detection limit is 7.9 x 10-9 M. The utility of this method has been utilized by determining it in pharmaceutical preparatIons.