Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) in conjunction with isotope dilution mass spectrometry (ID-MS) was employed for the analysis of formaldehyde in cosmetic products. The formaldehyde is derivatized in situ with pentafluorophenyl hydrazine. The formed hydrazone is adsorbed over a poly(dimethylsiloxane)–divinylbenzene-coated fiber and analyzed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The adsorption–time profiles and salting effect were studied. The quantitation was performed by using a stable isotope labeled analogue as an internal standard. The precision, recovery and detection limits were determined with spiked samples. The relative standard deviations from different spiked cosmetic samples were all less than 10% and the recoveries were between 89.00 and 101.23%. The limit of detection was of 0.39 μg/l. Compared with other techniques, the study shown here provides a simple, fast and reliable method for the analysis of formaldehyde in cosmetic products.