The adsorption of octa(oxyethylene) monododecyl ether (C12E8) from water onto silica gel-a system of technical as well as environmental interest-is investigated at various temperatures using liquid chromatographic techniques. The isotherms obtained are of the two-step type. The first step at low adsorbed amounts has scarcely been observed in the past. Therefore, this study focuses on this area. The sorption isotherms and the influence of temperature on these isotherms indicate different adsorption mechanisms for the two isotherm steps. Whereas the first step seems to be related to hydrogen bonds between hydrophilic surfactant groups and surface silanol groups, the second step can be well explained by the formation of hemimicelles on the surface. For the determination of the sorption isotherms, a liquid chromatographic technique, an elution analysis, is introduced. The so-called "elution on a plateau" technique measures the derivative of an isotherm and therefore can provide additional details about the course of the adsorption isotherm. In comparison with the common batch technique for the determination of sorption isotherms, the chromatographic method has several advantages. Temperature control of the measurement system is simpler. Furthermore, the investigation of the transport behavior and of poorly detectable substances such as poly(oxyethylene) monoalkyl ethers is possible.