The simultaneous determination of heavy metals associated with airborne particulate matter in the atmosphere of the city of Isfahan (Iran) was performed by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) after pre-concentration with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate. The pre concentration procedure developed found instrumental to determine the trace heavy metals associated with ambient aerosols collected at a short sampling period or collected from rural areas where the concentrations of these metals are much less than those in urban areas.