Water is a necessity for human survival. The safety of drinking water has always been an important factor that affects people's lives and health. Thus, determining the water quality is a key point of national guidance. Based on the instrumental analysis course of the College of Chemistry of Nankai University and literatures, students chose a topic wherein the anion type and concentration in common drinking water were determined with the assistance of teachers. Thus, they judged the differences of different types of drinking water and whether they meet the national standards. The experimental results would provide theoretical guidance and suggestions for the people to choose the safest drinking water. Additionally, this experiment stimulated students' interest in learning and further deepened their understanding and application of ion chromatography analysis technology. The performance of this experiment represents a close combination of theory with practice. This enables students to flexibly apply the knowledge they learned in the course of instrumental analysis to real life and deepens their understanding of the close relationship between chemistry and daily life.