A technology of two-stage foam fractionation for tea saponin recovery was studied. Effects of temperature, initial pH, loading liquid volume and superficial airflow rate in the two-stage foam fractionation process were investigated. The results showed that when the conditions of the first stage were pH 2.06, loading liquid volume 250 mL, superficial airflow rate 150 mL/min and temperature 65.0 degrees C, enrichment ratio and recovery percentage of tea saponin were 3.47 and 45.1%, respectively, and the residual solution was added to the second stage as initial solution. When the conditions of the second stage were temperature 30.0 degrees C and superficial airflow rate 200 mL/min, recovery percentage of tea saponin reached to 65.2%, and the foamate was added to the first stage as initial solution. Total recovery percentage of tea saponin reached to 80.1% by the two-stage foam fractionation. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.