A rapid high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique incorporating resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) detection was developed for the determination of tetracycline (TC), oxytetracycline (OTC), chlortetracycline (CTC) and doxycycline (DOTC). This method was based on the weak intensity of the RRS of the TCs and its enhancement with the addition of titan yellow (TY) and CuSO₄ in a pH 3.5 Britton–Robinson buffer solution. The RRS signal was detected at λ_ex = λ_em = 450 nm. The chromatographic separation used (25 : 75, v/v) methanol–phosphate buffer (pH 3) as the mobile phase. The analytical technique was validated for intra- and inter-day variations and the detection limits of the assay were 0.668 μg mL⁻¹ for TC, 0.342 μg mL⁻¹ for OTC, 0.480 μg mL⁻¹ for CTC and 0.132 μg mL⁻¹ for DOTC at a signal-to-noise ratifo of 3.0. The conditions for separation and detection were optimized and the reasons for the RRS enhancement were evaluated. The developed method was validated for the analysis of TCs in water samples. The recoveries were acceptable (ranging from 97.4–102.4%).