A novel branch fluorinated cationic surfactant trimethyl-(2-{4-,[3,4,4,4-tetrafluoro-2-(1,2,2,2-tetrafluoro-1-trifluoromethyl-ethyl)-1,3-bis-trifluoromethyl-but-1-enyloxy]-benzenesulfonylamino}-ethyl)-ammonium iodide (BFCS) was synthesized successfully, and it's structure was characterized by FTIR, H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR, F-19 NMR, MS. The surface activities of BFCS, the effect of temperature, electrolyte and combination with hydrocarbon surfactant were investigated. The results showed that BFCS exhibited excellent surface activity and combined properties. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.