Toxic bloom-forming cyanobacteria are a global health hazard. These photosynthetic microorganisms produce a suite of secondary metabolite toxins including hepatotoxins such as microcystin, nodularin and cylindrospermopsin and neurotoxins such as saxitoxin. These toxins can threaten the safety of drinking water supplies and in the case of saxitoxin, can accumulate to dangerous levels in shellfish, affecting the seafood industry. Several molecular methods have been described for the detection and quantification of toxigenic cyanobacteria, however, to date there is no method for the simultaneous detection and quantification of hepatotoxin and neurotoxin producing genera. This paper describes the development and validation of a quadruplex quantitative-PCR (qPCR) assay capable of detecting and quantifying toxin genes from the microcystin, nodularin, cylindrospermopsin and saxitoxin biosynthesis pathways. The primers and probes employed in this assay were designed from conserved regions within toxin biosynthesis genes from most of the representative cyanobacterial genera. The qPCR assay was optimized to reliably determine the copy number of cyanotoxin biosynthesis genes, as well as an internal cyanobacteria 16S rDNA control, in a single reaction. Amplification efficiency and reproducibility were similar among the cyanotoxin genes, while the sensitivity of the reaction for the toxin genes ranged from 102 to 106 gene copies per reaction. This multiplex qPCR assay is a powerful tool for detecting and quantifying potentially toxic cyanobacteria in laboratory and field samples. Such technology will enable water quality and food safety authorities to better forecast, evaluate and reduce the impact of future harmful algal bloom events.