The content of lead in soil was detected by spectrophotometry with dithizone as color reagent. The soil was digested to make lead in soil and the dithizone a color complex. The absorbance was measured at the maxi- mum wavelength of 517 nm and the effects of the coloration time, and the amount of the color reagent on the measurement were investigated. The concentration of lead complied with the Lambert-Beers Law when it was in the range of 0 ~ 1 μg/mL. Then the linear regression equation, and the linear regression coefficientwith good correlation were obtained. The research results show that only slight pollution exits as the lead content in the soil of the green belt is 42.17 mg/kg, and the lead content in soil along a major road is 77.73 mg/kg. This method is applicable to the detection of lead in soil.