Abstract: Flotation behaviors of rutile in mixed reagent systems of sodium oleate (SO)/sodium benzohydroxamide (BHA) and sodium oleate (SO)/sodium salicylhydroxamide (SHA) had been investigated. The interaction mechanisms between reagents as well as the adsorption properties of reagents onto rutile surface were studied using several methods, namely Zeta potential, surface intension, contact angle, UV diffuse reflectance spectroscopy et al. The results indicate that the collecting ability of the three reagents for rutile follows the order: SO>BHA>SHA. The adding sequence of reagents is of great importance to rutile flotation properties, eg., the rutile recovery and the synergistic effect index when adding BHA or SHA firstly and sodium oleate secondly are higher than the rest situations. There is an electron conjugation effect between the electron-rich double bond in sodium oleate and the benzene ring in SHA or BHA which is the motivation for reagents association. The amount and configuration of the association complex play an critical role in rutile flotation nature. It is observed that the rutile recovery tally with the width of rutile in SO/BHA system while in SO/SHA system the relationship is reversed and the reasons need to be further studied.