Abstract Carboxylate derivatives of cardanol and anacardic acids, which are the main phenolic components of cashew nut shell oil were prepared and tested as anionic surfactants. They lower the surface tension, exhibit a critical micelle concentration, and produce microemulsions in mixtures with dodecyl sulfate. The values of their characteristic parameters in the hydrophilic–lipophilic deviation scale attained by the unidimensional formulation scan method typify them as hydrophilic surfactants.