Capillary microreactors operated under the slug flow regime were investigated for the separation of lactic acid from the aqueous phase using liquidliquid reactive extraction. The experiments were performed at a 1:1 flow ratio of the aqueous to organic phases in a setup consisting of an inlet Y-type mixer connected with a poly(tetrafluoroethylene) capillary microreactor and subsequently an outlet Y-shape phase splitter. The extraction of lactic acid (intake: 0.11 and 0.055 M in water) using 15% (v/v) tri-n-octylamine in n-octanol under ambient conditions approached equilibrium after about 90 s in microreactors without noticeable emulsion formation. The measured reactive extraction performance in microreactors can be well described by a physical mass transfer model according to the penetration theory (developed from a model experimental study for the extraction of acetanilide from water to n-octanol) combined with an instantaneous irreversible reaction assumption.