A high performance liquid chromatograpic procedure is described for determining ginseng saponins such as ginsenoside-Rb1, -Rb2, -Rc, -Rd, -Re, -Rf, -Rg1, and-Rg2. Ginseng saponins extracted with 90% methanol and water-saturated butanol were compared with pure standard ginsenosides. The resolution of the saponins was satisfactory and detection limit for each saponin was about 5.mu.g. Separation of the saponins was accomplished using a .mu. Bondapak carbohydrate analysis column, mobile phase of acetonitrile-water-butanol (80:20:15) and differential refractive index (RI) detector. The reproducibility and the recovery were also studied. This method was applied for determining the saponin contents of several parts of leaf, fresh ginseng, white ginseng, and red ginseng.