Capillary gas chromatography was performed with mass spectrometric detection using a novel microplasma ion source for operation in an element- selective mode. The ion source was a 350 kHz radio frequency helium plasma, which was sustained inside the 4 cm end of a 0.32 mm i.d. fused silica capillary column, and located inside the high vacuum chamber of the quadrupole mass spectrometer. Due to the low volume of the ion source, a stable low pressure discharge was produced utilizing only the 2.25 mL min^{- 1} of GC carrier gas (helium) for plasma support. Small amounts of oxygen (0.1-0.2% v/v) were added to the plasma gas in order to prevent carbon deposits and to enhance signal-to-noise ratios. Chlorine and bromine were selectively detected at the 5-20 pg s^-1 level (S/N = 2), and both produced a response that was linear within 3 orders of magnitude.