Two spectrophotometric methods have been described for the determination of α -tocopherol acetate (vitamin E) in soft capsules. The first method applies the orthogonal function method under least squares. The quadratic coefficients calculated over the wavelength range 277 - 304 nm at 4-nm intervals in chloroform were reproducible and independent of ethyl oleate concentration. The second method applies the second derivative (D2) to correct for irrelevant absorbance due to ethyl oleate The peak trough amplitude at 271 - 287 nm was in linear correlation to the concentration of vitamin E. The recoveries obtained using the proposed methods agreed with those obtained using the official proceduce.