Two simple, extraction-free spectrophotometric methods (Method-I and Method-II) for the quantitative estimation of lamuvidine (LMV) in bulk drug and pharmaceutical formulations (tablets) have been developed. First method is based on the interaction of LMV with 0.1% methanolic solution of bromophenol blue to form a stable, red-colored, ion-pair complex showing the peak at 595 nm. Second method is based on the oxidation followed by coupling of 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone with LMV in the presence of ferric chloride to form green-colored chromogen exhibiting absorption maximum at 659 nm. Both the methods follow Beer's law in the concentration range 1-8 mu g mL(-1). Linear relationships with good correlation coefficients (0.991-0.9967) are found between absorbance and corresponding concentrations of the drug. The reliability and performance of the proposed methods are validated statistically, the recovery ranges from 99.4 +/- 0.1% to 99.9 +/- 0.3%. The results of analysis for the two methods have been validated statistically and by recovery studies.