Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) measurement of 59Ni has been established at CIAE with the HI-13 tandem accelerator and the recently developed ΔE-Q3D detection system. 59Ni standard and commercial NiO samples were measured to check the performance of the ΔE-Q3D detection system on 59Ni isobar separation and suppression. An overall suppression factor of about 107 for the interfering isobar 59Co resulting in detection sensitivity as low as 3.8 × 10 -13 atomic ratio (59Ni/Ni) has been obtained. Based on these techniques, the AMS measurement method of 59Ni with high sensitivity is developed. © 2013 Chinese Physical Society and the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Modern Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and IOP Publishing Ltd. © 2013 Chinese Physical Society.