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A simple analytical method for quantitative determination of an anionic surfactant in aqueous solutions without liquid-liquid extraction is described. The method is based on the formation of a green-colored ion associate between sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) and cationic dye, Brilliant Green (BG) in acidic medium. Spectral changes of the dye by addition of SDBS are studied by visible spectrophotometry at maximum wave length of 627 nm. The interactions and micellar properties of SDBS and cationic dye are also investigated using surface tension method. The pH, the molar ratio ([BG]/[SDBS]), and the shaking time of the solutions are considered as the main parameters which affect the formation of the ion pair. Determination of AS in distilled water gives a significant detection limit up to 3 × 10 -6  M. The response surface methodology (RSM) is applied to study the absorbance. A Box-Behnken is a model designed to the establishment of responses given by parameters with great probability. This model is set up by using the three main parameters at three levels. Analysis of variance shows that only two parameters affect the absorbance of the ion pair. The statistical results obtained are interesting and give us real possibility to reach optimum conditions for the formation of the ion pair. As the proposed method is free from interferences from major constituents of water, it has been successfully applied to the determination of anionic surfactant contents in wastewaters samples collected from Algiers bay.