A method for simultaneously determining 17 phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in cigarette filter was established with GC/MS. The parameters such as extraction mode, extraction solvent, extraction condition, detection condition were tested, and 45 cigarette samples were detected. The results showed that: 1) ultrasonic extraction with water and ethanol mixture for 30 minutes was effective; 2) the recoveries of the 17 PAEs ranged from 87.0% to 105.8% with the relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 2.6% to 5.4%; 3) PAEs were found in 14 samples, the detectable rate was 31.11%, in which dibutyl phthalate (DBP) was found in 4 samples with the detectable rate of 8.88%; diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP) was found in 7 samples with the detectable rate of 15.56%; and di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) was found in 8 samples with the detectable rate of 17.78%. This method is suitable for simultaneously determining PAEs in cigarette filter.