Tellurium was a trace microalloying element of new advanced aluminum alloy, which could improve the strength, plasticity, heat resistance and corrosion resistance. The research, development, production and application of aluminum alloys put forward the demand for accurate and rapid determination of trace tellurium. However, there was still a lack of analysis standards and methods for tellurium in aluminum alloys at home and abroad. In order to solve the above problems, an analytical method for tellurium in aluminum alloy has been studied and established based on inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry to solve the above problems. The digestion method of aluminum alloy sample and the working conditions of the spectrometer were studied and optimized, such as analysis of spectral line, observation mode, radio frequency power, atomization gas flows, plasma gas flow and auxiliary gas flow. The optimized condition parameters were as below: radio frequency power of 1.20 kW; atomized gas flow of 0.75 L·min-1, plasma gas flow of 12.5 L·min-1 and auxiliary gas flow of 1.0 L·min-1. The observation mode was set to axial direction, and Te 214.282 nm was selected as the analysis line. 0.10 g of aluminum alloy sample was accurately weighed into the conical flask. Moreover, 5.0 mL of high-purity water, 5.0 mL of hydrochloric acid and 1.5 mL of nitric acid were added. Then heat until completely dissolved. After cooling, the test solution was diluted to 100.00 mL. The calibration curve solution of tellurium in aluminum alloy was established by the matrix matching method with 0.100 g of high-purity aluminum as the matrix. The calibration curve was a linear equation with a correlation coefficient of 0.999. The detection limit was 0.002%, and the limit of quantification was 0.005%. The optimized method was applied to the analysis of actual samples. The relative standard deviation of the determination result was no more than 5%, and the recovery rate of tellurium was 96%~109%. The determination results of the simulated sample were consistent with the theoretical value, and the bias was better than the reproducibility limit specified in GB/T 20975.25—2020. The proposed method has the advantages of sensitivity, accuracy, speed and greenness and can be used for the analysis of trace tellurium in aluminum alloys, filling the blank of the method for the analysis of tellurium in aluminum alloys at home and abroad, and providing technical support for the quality control of the development and application process of aluminum alloys containing tellurium.