An indirect, sensitive and accurate method for the determination of trace amounts of hydrazine is described. The method is based on the oxidation of hydrazine by a known excess of iodate in the presence of hydrochloric acid. The unreacted iodate is used in the oxidation of hydroxylamine to nitrite. Sulfanilic acid is diazotized by the nitrite formed. The resulting diazonium ion is coupled with N-(1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine to form a stable azo dye, which shows an absorption maximum at 540 nm. Hydrazine can be determined in the range of 20-400 ng $mL^{-1}$ with a detection limit of 3.1 ng $mL^{-1}$. The relative standard deviation for 50, 200 and 400 ng $mL^{-1}$ of hydrazine is 2, 1.5 and 1.3%, respectively (n = 10). The method was applied to the determination of hydrazine in water samples.