In this work, the fluorescence of a metal ion (UO₂²⁺) was exploited for the determination of meloxicam. The fluorescence quenching values of uranyl acetate (UA) showed an excellent linear relationship with the concentration of meloxicam (MLX) over the range of 0.015–7.5 μg mL⁻¹. The detection limit (3σ) was 4.49 ng mL⁻¹, which is lower than or comparable to most of the previously reported studies. The proposed method was applied satisfactorily to the assay of MLX in tablet and capsule samples. The optimum reaction conditions, influencing factors and effects of coexisting substances were investigated. In addition, the absorption spectrum, quenching constants (K_q) and Stern–Volmer plots confirmed that this was a dynamic-quenching process.