An amperometric nitrite sensor based on a polymeric nikel tetraaminothphalocyanine (p-NiTAPc) film coated glassy carbon (GC) electrode was developed. The mechanism of catalysis on the surface of the electrode was discussed. The sensor exhibited fast respond towards nitrite with a detection limit of 1 x 10(-7) M and a linear concentration range of 5 x 10(-7) to 8 X 10(-3) M. The possible interference from several common ions was tested. The proposed method was successfully applied in the detection of nitrite in real samples. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.