A competitive indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ci ELISA) for the organophosphorus insecticide acephate, O,S-dimethyl acetylphosphoramidothioate, was developed using a polyclonal antibody. Three different haptens mimicking the analyze and containing hexanoic acid moiety as a linker were synthesized, and then conjugated with the carrier proteins bovine serum albumin and keyhole limpet hemocyanin by the N-hydroxysuccinimide active ester method. Polyclonal antibodies raised against hapten-KLH conjugates in rabbits and the hapten-BSA conjugates as coating antigens were screened and selected for the assay in the homologous and/or heterologous ELISA system. The effects of various assay conditions, including blocking reagents, detergent content, organic solvents, pH, and preincubation of tile mixture of the polyclonal antibody and the analyze on the sensitivity were evaluated. The $IC_{50}$ value of acephate of 110 ng/mL was obtained in an optimized heterologous system using hapten-3-BSA as a coating antigen and a polyclonal antibody 8377, showing the detection range of 10-1000 ng/mL and the lowest detection limit of 4 ng/mL. The cross-reactivities of the structurally related insecticides, including methamidophos were less than 0.02%. These results indicate that the ELISA could be a convenient and alternative tool for monitoring acephate residues in agricultural products and environmental samples.