Addition of surfactants can influence extraction processes. In the case were the surfactant concentration is above the critical micelles concentration the mass transfer rate increases by the formation of inverse micelles and therefore the micellar extraction mechanism of zinc. The influence of the added surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) on zinc extraction with the cation exchanger di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (D(2)EHPA) is analysed based on extraction equilibriums and mass transfer experiments. The observed experimental results are explained phenomenologically.