A direct injection-graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GF-AAS) method for determining arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) in polypropylene tow binder was developed. The results showed that, twentyfold dilution and additional drying process at 120 °C effectively avoided sample blasting while boiling in the furnace and improved analysis precision. The recoveries of As and Pb ranged from 93.5 % to 104.0 % and 94.0 % to 105.3 %, respectively, with the relative standard deviations (RSD) of <5 %. The limit of detection of As and Pb was 0.537 and 0.567 μg/L, respectively. This method is suitable for determining As and Pb in polypropylene tow binders of water emulsion.