Recent advances in membrane technologies have enhanced the viability of water treatment strategies that employ semipermeable barriers. Forward osmosis (FO), which exploits the natural osmotic pressure gradient between a ''draw'' solution and a ''feed'' solution to produce potable water, offers a low-energy, low-cost alternative to more conventional treatment methods. Surfactants, because of their tendencies to aggregate into micelles and to adsorb at interfaces, provide intriguing osmotic pressures and offer exploitable properties by which draw solutions can be regenerated. The effectiveness of surfactant-based FO using cellulose triacetate membranes has been assessed in terms of water flux and reverse surfactant diffusion using cetylpyridinium chloride, sodium dodecylsulfate, and Triton X-100. The ratios of water flux to surfactant flux exceeded 600 L mol -1 for all surfactants studied. Surfactant recoveries of over 99 % were achieved by ultrafiltration using regenerated cellulose membranes.