Determinations were made by an iodometric method and by gas-liquid chromatography (g.l.c.) of inorganic bromide and total bromine in two soils of widely differing organic matter content, and in eight types of peat. The volumetric method is responsive to both bromide and iodide and gave a combined value. The g.l.c. method is halogen specific and gave individual values for bromide and iodide. Inorganic bromide represented only a small fraction (1.1% and 8%) of the total bromine in the soils, and was an even smaller fraction (0–1%) in the peats. The highly organic soil contained 141 μg total Br/g dry wt compared with 14 μg/g in the other soil. Total Br in the peats ranged from 11–116 μg/g. The organic soil contained an appreciable amount of total I (46 μg/g), while the total I content of the peats ranged from 3–18 μg/g. The possibility is considered that during the decomposition of peat added to soil, organic Br is released which might act as a potential source of inorganic bromide available to plants, so contributing to bromide residues in edible crops.