Surfactant wetting properties are important for any tribological system. In order to explore these properties the influence of four surfactant i.e. sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP); zinc dithiodiphosphate (ZDDP); sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS); and cetrimonium bromide (C-TAB); on the friction behaviour of physical vapour deposition (PVD) coated surfaces were studied using pin on disk tribometer. Anionic, cationic and non-ionic surfactants are dispersed in oil/water medium. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was performed to obtain the surface morphology, chemical composition and structure of the material. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.