An ultraviolet absorption test to limit the total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon content in petroleum waxes has been developed. The procedure consists of extraction of a solution of melted wax in an aliphatic solvent with a dimethyl sulfoxide-phosphoric acid mixture, followed, if necessary, by chromatography on a magnesia-Celite column. Recoveries of representative polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, added at a level of 12.5 μg to 25 g samples (0.5 ppm) of wax, ranged from 64 to 93% after the extraction part of the procedure, and from 44 to 85% after the column chromatographic part of the method. The variations in the recoveries may be attributed to the differences in the partition coefficients of the hydrocarbons between the aliphatic solvent and the dimethyl sulfoxide-phosphoric acid extraction mixture, plus the tendency of some of the compounds to be oxidized during the chromatographic part of the test. The procedure has been applied to the analysis of commercial, refined petroleum waxes, and specifications have been developed to limit the total polycyclic aromatic content of such waxes for food additive use.