Gas chromatography coupled to Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (GC/FT-IR) is rapidly becoming an accepted analytical technique complementary to GC/mass spectroscopy for identifying organic compounds in mixtures at low to moderate concentrations. Direct aqueous injection (DAI), developed primarily as an alternative to the purge and trap method for the analysis of volatile organics, is becoming a routine GC technique for a broad range of compounds. Application of DAI with water diversion using a two-position valve should increase the utility of GC/FT-IR making it easy to identify many hydrophilic analytes in aqueous samples that were previously difficult, if not impossible, to identify. For applications in which concentration enhancement is not necessary, the convenience of DAI GC/FT-IR would be attractive even for analysis of extractable compounds. The real potential for this technique is that it provides an alternative to the less routine techniques of liquid chromatography/FT-IR and super critical fluid/FTIR. (Copyright (c) 1989 Dr. Alfred Huethig Publishers.)