Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), as a powerful technology, is widely used to characterize the physicochemical properties of surfactants in solution. As a sensitive technique to molecular environment, NMR is beyond the reach of other spectral methods in surfactant systems. Recent years, intensive investigations of surfactants with NMR were reported but not well summarized, therefore we highlight these significant progresses, which may shed light on the challenges to understand their behavior and mechanisms in surfactant systems. The theory of various NMR methods was introduced, including chemical shifts, diffusion, relaxation, 2D nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY) and rotating frame nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (ROESY). The behavior, interaction and mechanisms among surfactants and other molecules from NMR technologies were discussed. Challenges to understand the behavior and mechanisms in surfactant systems and instrumentation limits are addressed as perspectives.

核磁共振（NMR）作为一项强大的技术，已广泛用于表征溶液中表面活性剂的物理化学性质。作为对分子环境敏感的技术，NMR是表面活性剂系统中其他光谱方法无法企及的。近年来，已经报道了使用NMR对表面活性剂进行的深入研究，但没有得到很好的总结，因此，我们重点介绍了这些重大进展，这可能揭示了了解表面活性剂在表面活性剂体系中的行为和机理的挑战。介绍了各种NMR方法的理论，包括化学位移，扩散，弛豫，2D核Overhauser效应谱（NOESY）和旋转框架核Overhauser效应谱（ROESY）。行为，讨论了核磁共振技术中表面活性剂与其他分子之间的相互作用和机理。透视解决了了解表面活性剂系统行为和机理以及仪器极限的挑战。