Synthetic hydromagnesite (SHM), used as flame retardant for polymers, may have similar or better flame retardancy effectiveness than aluminum tri-hydroxide (ATH) and magnesium di-hydroxide (MDH). Suitable surface modifiers are often employed to improve its dispersion and compatibility with polymer matrix. In this study, we chose stearic acid (SA) and zinc stearate (ZS) as the surface modifier, and investigated the properties of SHM modified with various surface modifier content using dry blending coating process. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetry (TG), particle size distribution, contact angle, oil absorption, bulk density, tapped density and Carr's index were employed to characterize the effect of surface modification. The results showed that the surface of SHM powders was changed from hydrophilic to lipophilic. The flowability of the surface modified powder was also improved. TG graphs showed that the surface modifier had no obvious influence on the degradation pathway of the SHM. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.