The invention belongs to the field of chemistry, and particularly relates to a method suitable for measuring 16 elements including lead, copper, iron, arsenicum, chromium, zinc, cadmium, manganese, nickel, cobalt, indium, rhodium, gallium, bismuth, neodymium and cerium in a food additive citric acid. The measuring method consists of the following steps: firstly, weighing a sample of the food additive citric acid, and putting the sample in a microwave digestion instrument; secondly, performing sample digestion by using a mixed acid of nitric acid and perchloric acid; thirdly, adding a sample solution into hyperpure water according to a proportion that 1 to 2 mL of the nitric acid is added into each 10 grams of the citric acid sample, and moving the mixture into a plastic volumetric flask of100 mL; fourthly, drawing calibration curves: using national standard stock solutions (GBW) containing the 16 elements, using 3 percent nitric acid to dilute the national standard stock solutions into mixed standard solutions with the concentrations of 0.0, 5.0, 10.0, 20.0, 30.0, 40.0 and 50.0 umg/L, and drawing the calibration curves of each elements by using the concentrations as horizontal coordinates and ion abundances as vertical coordinates; and fifth, measuring and calculating the contents of the 16 elements in the food additive citric acid in the sample solution obtained in the thirdstep according to the fourth step.