Species analysis of metallothionein-like proteins (MLP) in liver tissues from Elbe-Bream (Abramis brama L.) and Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) using capillary electrophoresis (CE) combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry detection is described. In order to allow systematic development of the method, commercially available metallothionein (MT) preparations of rabbit liver were used. Optimum separation efficiency was obtained by investigating the influence of parameters such as voltage, capillary temperature, buffer concentration, buffer pH and the use of different buffer systems. Instrumental parameters such as CE capillary position, interface adjustment and contamination problems are also discussed. Separation was performed using uncoated fused silica capillaries with 75 μm i.d. and 70 cm length. The optimum conditions were found to be: Separation voltage 30 kV, positive polarity, capillary temperature 288.15 K and a buffer concentration of 100 mmol l ^-1 Tricine-NH ₃ adjusted to pH 7.2. Sample preparation was performed so as to minimize oxidation and heavy metal contamination of the samples. The high molecular mass protein matrix was reduced by acetonitrile precipitation. For commercial MT preparations the relative standard deviations (R.S.D) in the retention times were 0.9% for MT-1 and 1.9% for MT-2; the R.S.D.'s in the peak areas were less than 6% for MT-1 and 16% for MT-2, respectively. Under optimized conditions the MLPs in the real samples could be separated efficiently in less than 10 min. By comparison with the migration times of commercially available MT preparations, two of the observed peaks could be assigned to MT-1 and MT-2.