The potential of nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis was investigated for the separation of selected anesthetic drugs. The effect of parameters, such as methanol-acetonitrile composition, temperature, apparent pH* and ionic strength of the electrophoretic media on migration times and selectivity was discussed. The capillary electrophoresis separation of these drugs was compared in aqueous and nonaqueous media. The best separation was achieved with a fused silica capillary (48.5 cm total length x 50 mm I.D.), a buffer electrolyte solution composed of 25 mM ammonium acetate in methanol, an applied voltage of 30 kV and a temperature of 10 _oC. Replicate injections under the optimal nonaqueous conditions gave acceptable precision data for migration times and peak areas.