Cationic and non-ionic surfactant-mediated systems have been used as mobile phases in thin-layer chromatographic separation of aromatic amines on silica gel layers. The effect of surfactant concentration below and above its critical micellar concentration on mobility of amines was examined. The influence of organic and inorganic additives such as alcohols, urea, NaCl and NaBr in micellar solutions on the mobility and separation efficiency of amines was also assessed. A mobile phase composed of 99.5:0.5 v/v water and (CTAB + methanol, 1:2 w/v) was identified as the best solvent system for rapid separation of indole from p-DAB and DPA in the presence of cations and phenols. The semiquantitative determination of p-anisidine by spot-area measurement method was also attempted. The lower limits of detection of amines have been determined.