Total phosphorus is an much important key water quality parameter . In view of the technical defects of existing detection methods and instruments for in situ monitoring total phosphorus, a new detection method based on ultrasonic assisted sample digestion and spectrum analysis was put forward in this paper, and the automatic monitoring system prototype based on such detection method had been developed. Aiming at wastewater treatment, the spot experiment had been carried out to contrast prototype with Chinas national standard analysis method for on line measuring total phosphorus in the water, and the results of the comparative experiment showed that the automatic monitoring instrument prototypes had good repeatability (10%) and high accuracy (±10%), which met the technical qualifications of Chinas environmental protection industry standards.