Three types of surfactants, namely anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), cationic surfactant dodecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (DTAB) and non-ionic surfactant Tween-80, were selected to emulsified kerosene collector. The flotation tests of low-rank coal from a coal preparation plant in Inner Mongolia were carried out and compared the flotation effect of collector before and after emulsification. The mechanism of emulsified kerosene was analyzed by laser particle size analyzer, contact Angle and Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results showed that when the collector dosage at 6000 g/t and kerosene is used as collector alone, the combustible recovery is 60.07% and the flotation perfection index is 30.44%. When Tween-80 emulsified kerosene is used as collector, the combustible recovery reaches the maximum, is 88.05%, and the flotation perfection index is 31.21%. The laser particle size analyzer showed that emulsification could reduce the particle size of oil droplets. The average particle size of kerosene dispersed in water was 167μm, Tween-80 emulsified kerosene was 1.19μm, SDS emulsified kerosene was 0.152μm, and DTAB emulsified kerosene was 1.52μm. Combined with the flotation results, when the average particle size of emulsified kerosene oil droplet is 1.19μm and 90% of the particle size distribution is less than 3.77μm, the combustible recovery and flotation perfection index are the highest. The results of FTIR and contact angle showed that the collector is adsorbed effectively on the surface of low-rank coal, reduces the influence of oxygen-containing functional groups on flotation, and increases the hydrophobicity of coal surface.