The steady state spectra and time resolved studies indicate that the Coumarin 480 (C-480) molecules are located at the interfacial region in TritonX-100(TX-100)/cyclohexane/1-hexanol/water, sodium dodecyl sulfate(SDS)/1-hexanol/ water, and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide(CTAB)/isooctane/1-hexanol/water microemulsions. The retardation of solvation dynamics of C-480 in these three microemulsions is observed. Moreover, the solvent relaxation times in these three microemulsions are independent of water loading. The close resemblance of solvation dynamics results among TX-100, SDS, and CTAB microemulsions imply that ionic solvation has no role in the slow solvation processes occurring in these microemulsions. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.