Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) were applied to determine minor and trace elements in human nail samples. Validation of each method was performed by measuring NIES No. 5 Human Hair certified reference material. Good agreements were observed between certified and measured values for these methods. Nail samples collected from 18 healthy volunteers were washed, dried and cut into small pieces. The samples were divided into two portions, one of which was analyzed by INAA and the other by ICP-MS. In INAA, Na, Mg, Al, Cl, K, Ca, V, Mn and Cu were recognized and the concentrations of these elements were calculated. On the other hand, peaks of Cu, Zn, Sr, Ag, Sn, Sb, Ba, Ce Hg and Pb were observed in the spectrum by ICP-MS. Copper, Zn, Sr, Ag and Pb were determined by ICP-MS because these elements showed sufficiently high intensity without spectrum interference. Nine and five elements were determined by INAA and ICP-MS. Copper was determined by both methods, and good correlation was observed. Combination of INAA and ICP-MS has an advantage to provide more information of elemental contents for nail samples if more than only one of the two methods is employed.