Provides a method for the quantitative determination of selected coal-tar-derived phenols, namely phenol, methylphenols such as (ortho-, meta-, para-)cresols, and dihydroxybenzenes such as catechol, resorcinol and hydroquinone (see Table 1) in soil by using high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet/diode array (HPLC/UV/DAD) or fluorescence (HPLC/FLD) or electrochemical detection (HPLC/ELCD).