A simple, selective, highly sensitive and accurate procedure for the determination of trace amounts of copper has been developed based on solid-phase spectrophotometry. Copper reacts with 5-(2-benzothiazolylazo)-8-hydroxyquinoline (BTAHQ) to give a complex with high molar absorptivity (3.17 × 107 L mol−1 cm−1, 3.07 × 108 L mol−1 cm−1, 1.22 × 109 L mol−1 cm−1, and 1.80 × 109 L mol−1 cm−1), fixed on a Dowex 1-X8 type anion-exchange resin for 10 mL, 100 mL, 500 mL, and 1000 mL, respectively. The absorbance at 667 nm and 800 nm packed in a 1.0 mm cell was measured directly. Calibration is linear over the range 0.2–3.7 µg L−1 with RSD of < 1.28 % (n = 10). The detection and quantification limits of the 500 mL sample method are 79 ng L−1 and 260 ng L−1 when using 60 mg of Dowex 1-X8. For a 1000 mL sample, the detection and quantification limits are 67 ng L−1 and 220 ng L−1 using 60 mg of the exchanger. Increasing the sample volume can enhance the sensitivity. The proposed method was applied to the determination of copper in different environmental water samples (tap, pit, spring, and river), food products (rice, corn flour, and tea), and mushrooms, using the standard addition technique.