The properties of the coordination compoands of Au(Ⅲ), Au(Ⅰ) and Ag(Ⅰ) with mercapto-acetanil (MAA or HL) are reported.The AuL_3 type of the compounds is synthesized for the first time and characterized by elemental analysis, UV, IR and TG-DTA. The ligand (MAA) selectively chelates Au(Ⅲ) from acidic solution or aqua regia containing ions such as Ca, Mg, Cd, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and Fe. The formed AuL_3. then converts into Au(Ⅰ)L in absolute ethyl alcohol. The gold and silver were recovered through high temper...