Energy-dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis has been established at the University of Dar es Salaam, Faculty of Science, Department of Physics. Calibration was conducted using thin films from Micromatter (USA) for secondary target XRF. We report on the performance of the spectrometer including the detection limits attained, which range from 0.01 to 10 ng cm−2 using collimators of 6 and 8 mm diameter under excitation conditions of 50 kV, 35 mA. The accuracy of the measurements was checked using IAEA SOIL-7 and NIST 3087a Certified Reference Materials. The experimental values differed by <5% from the certified values. The total reflection x-ray fluorescence (TXRF) facility added as a module to the existing XRF system provides detection limits between 0.1 and 100 pg for most of the elements measured