Objective In order to approach the application of TOXTRACER in testing acute toxicity of water quality. Methods The luminescent inhibition rates of luminescent bacteria(Vibrio fisheri) in different conditions were detected by TOXTRACER made in Holland using HgCl2 as a toxicant and luminescent inhibition rates or EC50 values using all kinds of water samples were detected. Results Little difference was seen among luminescent inhibition rates of the bacteria in 10, 15, and 30 min reaction time groups using 0.2 mg/L HgCl2 solution. The variation coefficients of luminescent inhibition rates of the bacteria using 0.10, 0.20 and 0.40 mg/L HgCl2 solution at 15 min reaction time point were 12.3%, 2.6%, and 0.9% respectively. In 10-30 min reaction time a good linear relationship was found between concentrations of HgCl2 and luminescent inhibition rates, EC50 value was not variable. With TOXTRACER the Vibrio fisheri could be used for 5 consecutive hours and they were much more sensitive to HgCl2 than Photobacterium phosphoreum T3(a luminescent bacteria produced in China). The relationship between the luminescent inhibition rates of Vibrio fisheri and concentrations of given toxicants, As2+ (0.2-40.0 mg/L), Cr3+ (0.5-5.0 mg/L), Hg2+ (0.05-0.40 mg/L), was found to be linear. Conclusion TOXTRACER can be used for direct quantitative analysis of the acute toxicity of water samples.