A rapid and simple method for the determination of cephalexin, cephalothin sodium and cephradin without prior separation from their alkali-induced degradation products is presented. By measuring the values of the first and second derivative spectra at certain wavelengths, the concentration of the intact drug can be calculated directly without interference of degradation products. The method was proved using synthetic mixtures of the intact drugs with their degradation products, and its suitability to monitor the stability of the drugs was demonstrated.