In this paper, a novel dithiocarbamate compound, S-benzoyl-N,N-diethyldithiocarbamate (BEDTC), was synthesized via one-pot reaction of diethylamine, carbon disulfide, sodium hydroxide and benzoyl chloride using abundant carbon disulfide as a solvent. Its flotation performance and adsorption mechanism on the galena was first investigated by flotation tests, adsorption quantity measurements, FTIR spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculation. The flotation results illustrated that BEDTC exhibited stronger collecting power than the conventional sulphide collectors such as sodium diethyl dithiocarbamate (SEDTC) and sodium isobutyl xanthate (SIBX) and superior selectivity for galena against sphalerite. The adsorption data demonstrated that the adsorption affinity of BEDTC to galena was stronger than that of SEDTC and SIBX, and the preferable pH range for BEDTC adsorption on galena surfaces was 6-10. The results of FUR spectra and XPS indicated that the interaction of BEDTC with galena may be dominated by the chemical adsorption, which was further confirmed by DFT calculation. BEDTC probably acted as a bidentate ligand, bonding with lead through the thiol sulfur and carbonyl oxygen atoms to form two distinct adsorption geometries, one with the same Pb atom to form a six-membered ring complex, and the other with two different Pb atoms to form a "bullet" shape complex. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.