A modified variational approach and the coupled homotopy perturbation method with
variational formulation are exerted to obtain periodic solutions of a conservative nonlinear singular
oscillator in plasma physics. The frequency–amplitude relations for the oscillator which the restoring force is inversely proportional to the dependent variable are achieved analytically. The approximate frequency obtained using the coupled method is more accurate than the modified variational approach and ones obtained using other approximate methods and the discrepancy between the approximate frequency using this coupled method and the exact one is lower than 0.31% for the whole range of values of oscillation amplitude. The coupled method provides a very good accuracy and is a promising technique to a lot of practical engineering and physical problems.