The present review covers the latest progress in instruments and methodology of analytical atomic spectrometry in the areas, such as atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), atomic emission spectrometry (AES), atomic fluorescence spectrometry (AFS), laser induced breakdown spectrometry (LIBS) and atomic mass spectrometry (AMS). The emphasis has focused in the fields of food, medicine and their relevant. The Lab-on-chips and microplasmas are emerged in recent years, which have facilitated the development of miniaturization of analytical atomic instruments. The applications of laser and hyphenaed techniques continue in popularity for speciation studies.