In present study, illite flotation behavior with Cetyl Trimethyl Ammonium Chloride (CTAC) as the collector has been studied to investigate the effects of its residual concentration on froth stability and flotation. Results showed that, with increasing conditioning time, the residual concentration (frother concentration) and froth height decreased simultaneously, while the adsorbed amount (particle hydrophobicity) increased. Increasing CTAC conditioning time decreased the residual concentration in solutions, resulting in poor froth stability and flotation recovery at high pH; the adsorption rate of CTAC on illite surface was relatively high at higher pH due to strong electrostatic mechanism, making CTAC residual concentration decrease.