This review covers the application of atomic and mass spectrometric techniques for the determination of metals and metalloids in atmospheric aerosols. Atomic spectrometric methods based on flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS), electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS), atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS), total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) spectrometry and plasma based techniques such as inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICPMS) are reviewed, because a considerable amount of research is presently performed in this field. The application of atomic and mass spectrometric techniques for fractionation studies based on the use of chemical sequential extractions for metal partitioning in airborne particulate matter and fly ashes are also discussed. This survey contains 156 references and covers mainly the literature published over the last decade.