The reactions among 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol (PAR), mercury(II) and/or cyanide ion in the presence of water soluble surfactants alone or combination were systematically investigated at about pH 9. The spectrophotometric determinations of mercury(II) and cyanide ion were investigated by using the PAR-mercury(II)-HPC complex (3:2:2 molar ratio) in the presence of N-hexadecylpyridinium chloride (HPC) alone; calibration graphs were rectilinear in the ranges of 0 – 40 μg mercury(II) and 0 –10 μg cyanide ion in a final 10 ml with the apparent molar absorptivities of 5.9 × 104for mercury(II) and 2.5 × 1041 mol−1cm−1for cyanide ion at 590 nm. The proposed method had advantages—rapidity, simplicity without solvent extraction, and sensitivity in comparison with reported solvent extraction methods. The interference of foreign ions decreased 1/2–l//4-fold compared with that in the presence of non-ionic surfactant alone.