In this experimental study, the pool boiling heat transfer of silica DI water nano-fluid with three various surfactants on the surface of copper heaters at different concentrations at atmospheric pressure has been investigated experimentally. The nano-fluid has been synthesized by a two-step process and has suitable stability. The results show that the boiling heat transfer of surfactant-DI water is higher than that of DI water. Moreover, surfactant-DI water has a higher heat transfer coefficient than silica-surfactant-DI water nano-fluid. For nano-fluids with fewer concentrations than 0.5% vol., the boiling heat transfer coefficient for silica-DI water for all surfactants is larger than that of DI water. The boiling heat transfer coefficient of the nano-fluids with anionic surfactant (SDS) is greater than cationic surfactant (CTAB) and cationic is larger than nonionic surfactant (PS20). Results also indicated that surface roughness and sediment are depends on surfactant type due to boiling of the nano-fluid. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.