A capillary ion chromatography-mass spectrometry (MS) method was proposed to determine glucosylglycerol (GG), sucrose, and five other carbohydrates. MS conditions and make-up flow parameters were optimized. This method is accurate and sensitive for simultaneous analysis of carbohydrates, with mean correlation coefficients of determination greater than 0.99, relative standard deviation of 0.91-2.81% for eight replicates, and average spiked recoveries of 97.3-104.9%. Limits of detection of sodium adduct were obtained with MS detection in selected ion mode for GG (0.006 mg/L), sucrose (0.02 mg/L), and other carbohydrates (0.03 mg/L). This method was successfully applied to determine GG and sucrose in intracellular extracts of salt-stressed cyanobacteria. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.