An ion chromatographic procedure for the determination of malic acid, oxalic acid, and citric acid was developed. The three acids were extracted from cured tobacco with five percent hydrochloric acid. The extract was diluted and then passed through a cation exchange column to remove compounds which may poison the separator column. A well-resolved ion chromatogram of malic and oxalic acids was obtained using a sodium carbonate-sodium bicarbonate eluent. Citric acid was eluted from the same column by changing to a sodium borate-sodium hydroxide eluent. Respective day-to-day precisions were 5.8% for malic acid, 6.4% for oxalic acid, and 6.8% for citric acid. Recovery of malate, oxalate, and citrate added to bright monitor tobacco which had been acid-extracted, washed then dried was 98.1%, 98.9%, and 98.6% respectively. An excellent correlation between ion chromatography of free acids and gas chromatography of methyl ester derivatives was established.