A new modification of the UV ionization difference method has been used to determine the amount of free phenolic hydroxyl groups in isolated residual lignins from kraft pulps. The method offers a simple and rapid way to determine both the type and amount of phenolic hydroxyl groups in lignin. The lignin samples were also subjected to aminolysis, a reliable but time-consuming method for the determination of free phenolic hydroxyl groups. The results obtained with aminolysis were about 15-20% higher than the results obtained with the UV-method, but the correlation between the results obtained with the two methods was good.