The present invention discloses indole chloride, namely 2-[2-[4-[(2-cyanoethyl)-methyl-amino]-phenyl]-vinyl]-1,3,3-trimethyl A new application of ‑3H‑indole chloride in the spectrophotometric determination of platinum. When the compound is used as an organic complexing agent to measure platinum by spectrophotometry, it mainly includes the following steps: preparation of solution, drawing of a standard curve, and determination of samples. The sample determination includes: sample digestion, complexation reaction, liquid-liquid extraction, absorbance measurement. The determination method provided by the invention can avoid the near-ultraviolet saturation absorption zone and the platinum ion absorption band, has rapid color development, stable complexation products, strong anti-interference, good selectivity to platinum, safety and harmlessness, and environmental friendliness. It can be used for the separation, enrichment and detection of trace platinum in environmental water samples, model water samples, and glass.