Preparation of a high stable solvent impregnated resins ( SIR) containing 1,4-dihydroxyanthraquinone ( quinizarin, QNZ) was proposed using Amberlite XAD-16 beads. The SIR was applied for the separation of Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II) in aqueous media prior to the determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The optimum conditions for batch mode extraction of the above metal ions were investigated and it was found that the sorption of these metal ions from a 1000-ml aliquots of the solution on 1.5 g of the SIR can be carried out quantitatively at pH of 9.5 and an ionic strength of 0.01 mol dm(-3). The sorbed metal ions were subsequently eluted with 10 ml 2 mol dm(-3) HCl and the eluent was subjected to FAAS. Beer's law was obeyed in the range of 9 x 10(-9) -1 x 10(-7) mol dm(-3) for Cd( II) and Zn( II), and 9 x 10(-8) -1 x 10(-6) mol dm(-3) for Cu( II) and Ni( II) contents. Significant interference was not observed due to the various ions, which could be found in natural water samples. The practical applicability of the method was confirmed using a synthetic certificated reference material (CRM) and spiked natural water samples.