The paper presents a novel method for the flotation separation of Zn2+ with ternary association complex system prior to the determination by spectrophotometry. The effects of different parameters, such as the dosages of NH4SCN and dodecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (DTAC), various salts and acidity etc. on the flotation yield of Zn2+ have been investigated to select the experimental conditions. The possible flotation mechanism of Zn2+ was discussed. The results showed that by controlling pH 4.0, in the presence of 1.0 g NaBr, when the dosage of 0.1 molṁL−1 NH4SCN solution was 2.50 mL and 5.0 × 10−3 molṁL−1 DTAC solution was 2.00 mL respectively, the water‐insoluble ternary association complex of [Zn(SCN)4] (DTAC)2 which produced by Zn2+ and SCN−, DTAC cation (DTAC+) floated above water phase and liquid‐solid phases were formed with clear interface, while K+, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Al3+, Fe2+, Mn2+, Cd2+, Co2+ and Ni2+ could not be floated, so Zn2+ was floated quantitatively at pH 4.0. Thereby, the quantitative separation of Zn2+ from the above metal ions could be achieved. A new method of determination of trace zinc by flotation separation was established. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the determination of Zn2+ in plating waster water, and the results agreed well with AAS method. The recoveries were 93.6%∼106.4%, and the RSD was 1.8%∼2.3%.