Removal of cadmium from wastewater using emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) is studied in the present study. A polyamine-type surfactant was used for stabilizing the emulsion phase. Tri-iso-octylamine(TIOA) has been used as a carrier for transferring of cadmium through the membrane. The results show good performance in the separation process. To determine the optimum operation conditions, the effect of several parameters such as surfactant concentration, carrier concentration, pH of external and internal phases, oil to internal phase volume ratio, emulsion to external phase volume ratio, solvent type, solute concentration, presence of iodide and chloride in external phase, and mixing conditions have been investigated. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.