An inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry- (ICP-AES) based method was developed for the direct determi- nation of phosphorus (P) and sul- phur (S) in stainless steel samples. It involved identification of differ- ent analytical lines of P and S and investigation of their analytical performance including detection limit, sensitivity, linear dynamic range, etc. Iron and chromium, being emission-rich major con- stituents of stainless steel, their contribution on the trace level determination of S and P was also investigated. The energy disper- sive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectroscopic technique was also used for comparative study. The P 177.495-nm and S 180.731-nm lines were found to be suitable for their determination in stain- less steel by ICP-AES, whereas the Kα lines were used for the EDXRF study. Based on the devel- oped methodology, five stainless steel samples were analyzed by ICP-AES and EDXRF, and the results were found to be satisfac- tory. The methodology was also validated by using certified refer- ence materials.