A new method of determining biacetyl in aqueous solutions by quenching its room temperature phosphorescence sensitized by alpha-bromonaphthalene in CTAB micelles is presented. CTAB micelles facilitate the triplet-triplet state energy transfer between alpha-bromonaphthalene and biacetyl and enhance the phosphorescence emission of alpha-bromonaphthalene; CTAB micelles act also as a quencher of quenching the phosphorescence of biacetyl sensitized by alpha-bromonaphthalene. The rate constant of triplet-triplet energy transfer between alpha-bromonaphthalene and biacetyl is 1.76 x 10(9) (mol . dm(-3))(-1)s(-1) and the quenched rate constant of biacetyl phosphorescence by CTAB is 7.82 x 10(7) (mol . dm(-3))(-1)s(-1). The detection limit of biacetyl is 2.8 x 10(-8) mol . dm(-3).