A new method for the recovery of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) from Alcaligenes eutrophus was reported. This process involved the use of a surfactant-chelate aqueous solution. The key factors that influenced the purity, recovery rate and My of recovered PHB were investigated. The purity and recovery rate were determined by the amount of surfactant, the ratio of chelate to dry biomass, pH value, temperature and treatment time, whereas the My was affected by pH value and temperature. The optimal recovery conditions were a 0.12:1 surfactant-to-dry biomass ratio, a 0.08:1 chelate-to-dry biomass ratio, a pH value of 13, a 50 degrees C temperature and a 10-min treatment time. Under such conditions, a purity of 98.7%, a recovery rate of 93.3% and a My of 316000 were obtained. The original My was 402000.