Simple and rapid spectrophotometric method for the determination of artesunate is described. The method is based on the reaction of  H₂O_2, generated by the cleavage of endoperoxide linkage of artesunate and its reaction with potassium iodide to liberate iodine. The liberated iodine bleaches the red colored Safranin O to colorless species and is measured at 521 nm while it oxidizes colorless Variamine blue to violet colored species and is measured at 556 nm. The optimum reaction conditions and other analytical parameters were evaluated. The statistical evaluation of the method is examined by determining intra-day and inter-day precision. The method has been successfully applied to both pure and tablet dosage forms