The occurrence of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) in soil has become a highly significant environmental issue. This problem has been exacerbated by the strong sorption of HOCs to soil and the absence of remediation technologies that have been tested at full-scale. More and more studies show that surfactants are able to solubilize HOCs from the soil, thus to enhance the remediation efficiency. Among these surfactants, Tween 80 has gained particular interest due to its low cost, low polarity, low toxicity and high solubilization capacity. This review aims to highlight the development of Tween 80-enhanced technologies for HOCs removal. Specifically, it provides an overview of HOCs removal by Tween 80 enhanced soil washing, soil flushing and combined treatments (Tween 80 extraction coupling with Fenton processes, electrochemical oxidation, etc.). We present a general and rigorous review on this topic, from the basic understanding of Tween 80-enhanced solubilization of sorbed HOCs to the current new techniques developed until 2016. Besides, possible improvements and outlooks of Tween 80 enhanced technologies are proposed. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.