Objective:To construct a screening model for monoamine oxidase(MAO) inhibitors in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Methods:Benzylamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT) were used as MAO-B and reaction substrates and their activities were measured by UV spectrophotometry,respectively. MAO concentration,substrate concentration,phosphate buffer concentration and pH,reaction time and temperature were optimized. Results:The optimized reaction system conditions were obtained as follows:under the conditions of enzyme pre-incubation time of 20 min and reaction time of 60 min at the temperature of 37 ℃,optimum con-dition for determination of MAO-B activity was 100 mmol/L phosphate buffer(pH 7.6) and 0.15 mg/ml MAO and 2.00 mmol/L ben-zylamine,optimum condition for determination of MAO-A activity was 100 mmol/L phosphate buffer(pH 7.4) and 0.40 mg/ml MAO and 5.00 mmol/L 5-HT. Conclusions:A screening model for monoamine oxidase inhibitors in vitro is constructed successfully. Due to its low cost and simple operation,it is suitable for large-scale screening MAO-B and MAO-A inhibitors.