Flotation behaviors and adsorption mechanism of spodumene by sodium oleate were studied by flotation, Zeta potential measurements and infrared spectra analysis. Flotation results show that when dosage of sodium oleate is 200 mg/L and pH=8-9, the maximum flotation recovery of spodumene is about 27%. The recovery of spodumene is up to 90%, as concentration of activated Fe3+ is 35 mg/L. And Fe3+ significantly activate spodumene flotation. Finally, It can be concluded that adsorption spodumene surface by sodium oleate is mainly by chemical interaction, based on infrared spectroscopy tests.