The selective partition of KCl and NH4Cl by aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) and the phase diagrams of water-KCl/NH4Cl-1-propanol ternary systems at 298.15 K have been studied. Based on the differences of several regions for the two ternary systems, binodal curves of water-KCl-NH4Cl-1-propanol quaternary systems were determined at different temperatures and different molar ratios of KCl and NH4Cl. In the aqueous two-phase area of the water-KCl-NH4Cl-1-propanol system, the influence of several experimental parameters, such as temperature, the initial concentration of 1-propanol, KCl, NH4Cl and the stock-still time on the separation factor of KCl and NH4Cl were investigated. The experimental results showed that the increase in the concentration of 1-propanol, KCl or NH4Cl favored the separation of KCl and NH4Cl. The experimental maximum separation factor was obtained at 313.15 K when the stock-still time was 4 h. The ATPSs has a potential application in the selective partition of KCl and NH4Cl. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.