This paper describes the first demonstration of a portable dielectric barrier discharge-atomic emission spectrometer (DBD-AES). The instrument primarily consists of a miniature electro-thermal vaporizer (ETV), DBD, and optical signal acquisition units. It weighs only 4.5 kg and is powered by a 24 V DC battery with a maximum power consumption of 37 W. The accompanying software can be operated on a laptop computer. A specially designed quartz tube integrates the ETV unit with the DBD chamber. The effects of experimental parameters were investigated. The limit of detection (LOD) for mercury was 0.4 μg L-1 (1.2 pg) with a sampling volume of 3 μL. The instrument is applicable for multielement analysis, and the LODs ranged from 0.16 to 11.65 μg L-1 for Zn, Pb, Ag, Cd, Au, Cu, Mn, Fe, Cr, and As. The instrument was also validated by in-field analysis of seawater samples. The experimental results demonstrated the sensitivity, reliability, and practicality of the instrument.