As a key process of fertilization with soil test, the determination of soil effective nutrients has received great attention in recent years. Based on a series of standard solution mixtures, which simulate the soil nutrients extracted by Mehlich 3 (M3) reagent, the optimal operating condition of ICP-AES was explored in a systematic way. The results show that the 20 key nutrient elements (P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Cd, Cr, Pb, Ni, Al, B, Mo, S, Si, Se, and As) in the solutions can be determined correctly and proficiently when ICP-AES is set at 0.80 L·min-1 of carrier gas flux, with observation height 15 mm and power 1 200 W. This study supplies a primary experimental foundation for establishing the determination technique of essential nutrient elements, extracted from soils in China with the general soil-nutrient extractant M3 reagent.