Two methods for determining sulphamethizol in the presence of nitrofurantoine in mixtures by first-derivative spectrophotometry and by the first derivative of the ratio spectra are described. The procedures do not require any separation step. In the first method the measurements are obtained in the zero-crossing wavelengths and the calibration graphs were linear up to 32 mug/ml of sulphamethizole at 251 and 278.5 nm. In the second method, the calibration graphs were linear up to 43 mug/ml by measuring at the maximum (263 nm), at the minimum (244 nm) and peak to peak. The methods were applied for determining sulphamethizole in a pharmaceutical product containing nitrofurantoine.