The effects of surfactant on the solvent extraction in leaching sphalerite were investigated. It is found that sodium dodecyl sulfonate is the effective surfactant in improving the zinc recovery from sphalerite in the aqueous FeCl3-HCl-tetrachloroethylene system. Through the measurements of surface tension and viscosity of the sphalerite slurry modified with different surfactants, it is concluded that sodium dodecyl sulfonate in the concentration range of 0.05 to 0.2g(.)L(-1) can improve the viscosity of sphalerite slurry in the water, decrease the surface tension of leaching solution, prevent the aggregation of ore particles, and give very high zinc extraction.