Abstract: The development of a gold immunostrip for the rapid detection of acetamiprid residue in tea samples was described. It was based on the principle of direct competitive immunochromatography. The artificial antigen of acetamiprid was prepared for immunization, and a highly-sensitive monoclonal antibody was obtained with the titer of 1:10 000. Subsequently, the gold immunostrip was developed and the visual detection limit of acetamiprid was 10 ng/mL. The detection time was just 10 min. No cross reaction with other neonicotinoid pesticides, such as imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and nitenpyram, was detected. Moreover, this method has been used to determine the acetamiprid residue in tea (green tea, black tea and extra-strong tea) by spiked recovery tests. And results indicated that this method could meet the detection requirement of Chinese MRL of acetamiprid (0.5 mg/kg) in tea. Also, it possessed some advantages such as high efficiency, convenience, and low cost. Overall, the newly-developed immunostrip can be used in field tests for rapid screening of fresh tea before tea harvest and the quality control of tea products.