SDS, CTAB, HT A-103 and OP-10 with the concentration of 0.1 wt% were incorperated into multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWCNTs) dispersions, respectively. And these four surfactant/MWCNTs solutions were treated by ultrasonic waves for further dispersion. After that, the Zeta potential, SEM were employed to characterize the dispersion, revealing the intermolecular micromechanical mechanism. At the same time, the adsorption methods of various surfactants on the surface of MWCNTs and their influence on the dispersion performance were obtained. The results show that: The best dispersion effect of MWCNTs is achieved at the concentration of SDS, CTAB, HT A-103 and OP-10 at 0.3wt%, 0.04wt%, 0.025wt%, 0.055wt%, respectively. And the dispersibility of surfactants-modified MWCNTs is: CTAB>HT A-103>OP-10>SDS; the dispersibility of each system first increases and then decreases with the increase of surfactant concentration. Both surface potential and steric hindrance of surfactants-assitied MWCNTs are higher than the other, in which CTAB molecules can form a double layer adsorption on the MWCNTs through electrostatic force, van der Waals force, and hydrophobic force. Compared with SDS, HT A-103 can endow MWCNTs with a higher surface potential, and enhance the adsorption performance by virtue of the π-π interaction between the benzene ring and the MWCNTs.