A newly developed Chernin cell was combined with the smog chamber for the volatile organic compounds(VOCs) detection using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The principle, design and application of the Chernin cell were introduced in this paper. The Chernin cell has good vibrostability and is easily adjusted. The optical pathlength can be adjusted from 3 to 330 m. The system precision, stability and reliability were proved with NO2 detection. With 37 m absorption pathlength, the NO2 detection limit was 19.1 μg/m3. For the application of this system for VOCs detection, the concentrations of o, m, p-xylene and toluene in the smog chamber were measured with 36 m absorption pathlength, and the corresponding detection limits were 42.6, 15.1, 9.9 and 19.7 μg/m3 respectively.