Many methods have been proposed to develop the fabrication techniques for superhydrophobic surfaces. However, such techniques are still at their infant stage and suffer many shortcomings. In this paper, the superhydrophobic surfaces on an Al substrate were prepared by a simple etching method. Effects of etching time, modifiers, and modification concentration and time were investigated, and optimal conditions for the best superhydrophobicity were studied. It was demonstrated that for etching the aluminum plate in Beck's dislocation, if the etching time was 15 s, modifier was Lauric acid-ethanol solution, and modification concentration and time was 5% and 1.5 h, respectively, the surface exhibited a water contact angle as high as 167.5 degrees and a contact angle hysteresis as low as 2.3 degrees. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.