Ultratrace gold (Au) in geogas samples has been determined by means of laser excited atomic fluorescence spectrometry combined with graphite electrothermal atomization and time-gate technique. Gold atoms were excited from the ground state to the 6p2P3/2 state by a pulsed laser beam with a wavelength of 242.8 nm. Fluorescence photons with a wavelength of 312.3 nm were measured by a photon-counting unit. The time-gate technique was used to reduce the background radiation caused by the furnace. This method has proved to be highly sensitive with minimal background interference. Eighty-two geogas samples were analysed and the Au contents obtained were in the range of 0.002–0.182 ng l-1. The study of Au concentration of geogas in soil is of great interest in prospecting gold deposits.