A Gemini surfactant with phthalate ester (SHZ16) was prepared from bis [2- (dimethylamino) ethyl] phthalic ester (I) which was obtained by reacting 2-(dimethylamino) ethanol with phthaloyl dichloride and bromohexadecane, yield 83% (based on phthaloyl dichloride) with the purity of 99.2% (two-phase chemical titration analysis).The criticalmicelle concentration (CMC) was found to be 2.02×10-5mol/L by measuring the electrical conductivity of SHZ16, and its surface tension CMC is 41.87mN/m by a drop volume method. Its edition soluble, viscosity, emulsifying property and foaming property were also studied. The results indicated that SHZ16 is better than traditional surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS).