A cyclodextrin-modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography (CD-MEKC) method was developed for separating conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers. All the seven CLA isomers (9cis, 11cis-CLA, 9cis, 11trans-CLA, 9trans, 11trans-CLA, 10trans, 12cis-CLA, 11cis, 13cis-CLA, 11cis, 13trans-CLA and 11trans, 13trans-CLA) were completely separated in the optimized conditions (4% (w/v) beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD), 54 mM sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), 80 mM borate (pH 9.0), 8 M urea, 4% (v/v) ethanol, 30 W and 15 degrees C). The CD-MEKC method was superior to the gas chromatographic (GC) and silver-ion high-performance liquid chromatographic (Ag+-HPLC) methods that were generally used in analyzing CLA isomers. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.