It has been found earlier (N.V Churaev, G.A. Martynov, VM. Starov, Z.M. Zorin, Colloid Polym. Sci. 259 (1981) 747) that aqueous surfactant solutions spontaneously rise in vertical hydrophobized quartz capillaries. A theory of this phenomenon is presented, which connects the experimental observations with the adsorption of surfactant molecules in front of the moving meniscus on the bare hydrophobic interface. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.