Ionic liquids (ILs) are innovative solvents for chemical processing. In this work, a database on activity coefficients of organic solutes at infinite dilution in ILs was collected from literature sources. The activity coefficients have been correlated by activity coefficient model for the regular solution and have been used to estimate the solubility parameter of ILs. The solubility parameters of ILs have been further correlated based on a concept of the group contribution method. Through the analysis of the database and the prediction results of selectivities, it was shown here that as compared with conventional organic solvents, higher selectivity can be achieved by using ILs as working solvents for separation of alkane/aromatic, aromatic/aromatic hydrocarbon mixtures via extraction or supported liquid membrane. (c) 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 3034-3041, 2013