diff --git a/structuretoolkit/__init__.py b/structuretoolkit/__init__.py
index d8669e23a..6bc461501 100644
--- a/structuretoolkit/__init__.py
+++ b/structuretoolkit/__init__.py
@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@
     center_coordinates_in_unit_cell,
     get_cell,
     get_extended_positions,
+    get_number_species_atoms,
     get_vertical_length,
     get_wrapped_coordinates,
     pymatgen_to_ase,
@@ -113,6 +114,7 @@
     "get_mean_positions",
     "get_neighborhood",
     "get_neighbors",
+    "get_number_species_atoms",
     "get_steinhardt_parameters",
     "get_strain",
     "get_symmetry",
diff --git a/structuretoolkit/common/__init__.py b/structuretoolkit/common/__init__.py
index 8c15b8aba..00a506e30 100644
--- a/structuretoolkit/common/__init__.py
+++ b/structuretoolkit/common/__init__.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
     center_coordinates_in_unit_cell,
     get_cell,
     get_extended_positions,
+    get_number_species_atoms,
     get_vertical_length,
     get_wrapped_coordinates,
     select_index,
@@ -22,6 +23,7 @@
     "center_coordinates_in_unit_cell",
     "get_cell",
     "get_extended_positions",
+    "get_number_species_atoms",
     "get_vertical_length",
     "get_wrapped_coordinates",
     "select_index",
diff --git a/structuretoolkit/common/helper.py b/structuretoolkit/common/helper.py
index 0db936641..47029c959 100644
--- a/structuretoolkit/common/helper.py
+++ b/structuretoolkit/common/helper.py
@@ -5,6 +5,20 @@
 from scipy.sparse import coo_matrix
 
 
+def get_number_species_atoms(structure: Atoms):
+    """Returns a dictionary with the species in the structure and the corresponding count in the structure
+
+    Args:
+        structure
+
+    Returns:
+        dict: A dictionary with the species and the corresponding count
+
+    """
+    elements_lst = structure.get_chemical_symbols()
+    return {species: elements_lst.count(species) for species in set(elements_lst)}
+
+
 def get_extended_positions(
     structure: Atoms,
     width: float,
diff --git a/tests/test_helpers.py b/tests/test_helpers.py
index b7e5b7dfd..d754c3b83 100644
--- a/tests/test_helpers.py
+++ b/tests/test_helpers.py
@@ -22,6 +22,14 @@ def test_get_cell(self):
             stk.get_cell(np.arange(4))
         with self.assertRaises(ValueError):
             stk.get_cell(np.ones((4, 3)))
+    
+    def test_get_number_species_atoms(self):
+        with self.subTest("Fe8"):
+            atoms = bulk("Fe").repeat(2) 
+            self.assertEqual(stk.get_number_species_atoms(atoms), {'Fe': 8})
+        with self.subTest('Al2Fe8'):
+            atoms = bulk('Fe').repeat(2) + bulk('Al').repeat((2,1,1))
+            self.assertEqual(stk.get_number_species_atoms(atoms), {'Fe': 8, 'Al':2})
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":