Recent advances of the atomization kinetics in electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry are critically reviewed with 31 references during 1994-2000. These include new methods for the determination of kinetic parameters, a two-parameters, a two-precursor model for the kinetics of analyte atomization, a kinetic model of atomization with redeposition, and the influences of matrices, chemical modifiers and atomizer surfaces on analyte atomization in an electrothermal atomizer.