The effect of surfactants on the transient phenomena of the codeposition of PTFE with electroless Ni-P coating at the early stage was investigated in this study. Two surfactants (CTAB and FC134) are utilized for comparison. The composition variation of the deposited layer is strongly related to the cathodic reactivity of the surfactants depending on the substrates at the early stage. When the cathodic reactivity of the surfactants is higher, correspondingly the PTFE particles are more easily embedded in the codeposition layer. The volume fraction of PTFE loading increases with the growth of the codeposition layer when the cathodic reactivity of surfactants on a substrate is less than that on the deposited layer. On the contrary, the volume fraction of PTFE loading decreases with the growth of the codeposition layer. Increasing the PTFE loading with the growth of the codeposition layer would provide good adhesion between the substrate and the codeposition layer. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.