Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been carried out to investigate the adsorption behavior of different surfactants-water-oil mixture on quartz surfaces. The effects of rhamnolipid, sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate and sodium hexadecyl sulfonate on binding energy and radial distribution function (RDF) of oil-quartz are calculated at molecular level. The study shows that these surfactants can reduce binding energy between oil molecules and quartz surface, which plays a role of oil-displacing agent. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.