The combined effect of salt (10 mmol L(-1)) and surfactants on the sorption of the fluorescent brightener 4,4'-distyrylbiphenyl sodium sulfonate (Tinopal CBS) onto modified cellulose fibers was studied. Sorption efficiencies with both cationic and anionic surfactants were evaluated. Emission spectroscopy was used for quantitative analysis since Tinopal has an intense fluorescence. The sorption efficiency of the brightener is greater for solutions containing a cationic surfactant (DTAC) below the critical micelle concentration (cmc), while for an anionic surfactant (SDS) above its cmc the efficiency is greater. The profile of the sorption isotherms were interpreted in terms of the evolution of surfactant aggregation at the fiber/solution interface. Salt influences the efficiency of the Tinopal sorption on the modified cellulose fibers either because it decreases the cmc of the surfactants or because the ions screen the surface charges of the fiber which decreases the electrostatic interaction among the charged headgroup of the surfactant and the charged fiber surface.