The object of this invention is to provide an atomic absorptiometer and a metal specimen atomic vapor generation apparatus used in the atomic absorptiometer, which enable a light absorption measurement based on the Zeeman effect highly capable of background correction and eliminate the need for the troublesome work of dismounting a magnet. For this purpose, the following configuration is employed. First, the specimen, hydrochloric acid, and sodium borohydride are delivered and mixed by the peristaltic pump 10 to produce a metallic hydride. The generated gas-liquid mixture solution is separated by the separator 12 into a specimen gas and liquids. The separated specimen gas is introduced into the heating section 30. Electricity is supplied from the power source 28 to the specimen heating section 30 where the specimen gas introduced is heated and separated into hydrogen and a specimen metal vapor to be measured. The specimen metal vapor is then introduced into the measuring section 34 arranged between magnetic poles of the magnet 32 where the metal vapor is subjected to the atomic absorptiometric analysis based on the Zeeman effect.