Non-ionic surfactants have been frequently reported to improve the enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated lignocellulosic biomass and pure cellulose. However, how the hydrolysis condition, substrate structure and cellulase formulation affect the beneficial action of surfactants has not been well elucidated. In this work, it was found that the enzymatic hydrolysis of pure cellulose was not consistently improved by surfactants. Contrarily, high surfactant concentration, e.g. 5 g/L, which greatly improved the hydrolysis of dilute acid pretreated substrates, actually showed notable inhibition to pure cellulose conversion in the late phase of hydrolysis. Under an optimal hydrolysis condition, the improvement by surfactant was limited, but under harsh conditions surfactant indeed could enhance cellulose conversion. It was proposed that non-ionic surfactants could interact with substrates and cellulases to impact the adsorption behaviors of cellulases. Therefore, the beneficial action of surfactants on pure cellulose hydrolysis is influenced by hydrolysis condition, cellulose structural features and cellulase formulation. (c) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.