Ion chromatography has been applied to the determination of inositol 2,4,5-trisphosphate (Ins 2,4,5-P3), inositol 1,3,4-trisphosphate (Ins 1,3,4-P3), inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (Ins 1,4,5-P3), and inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate (Ins 1,3,4,5-P4). Other common polyanionic metabolites, including ATP and GTP, do not interfere with the determinations even at concentrations exceeding those normally found in tissue extracts. Assay of rat brain for Ins 1,4,5-P3 and Ins 1,3,4,5-P4 by the method of standard addition gives values which are within 10% of the amount calculated by external calibration. When rat brain homogenates are spiked with Ins 1,4,5-P3, the recoveries are greater than 90%. Treatment of animals with lithium chloride and pilocarpine produces increases in total inositol trisphosphates from 14 to 64 nMol/g wet weight, and increases in Ins 1,3,4,5-P4 from 0.9 to 18 nMol/g wet weight in tissue extracts obtained from the cerebral cortex. Using chemically suppressed conductivity, detection limits in brain are estimated to be 50 pMol/g wet weight for inositol trisphosphates and 22 pMol/g wet weight for inositol tetrakisphosphate.