Aqueous micellar two‐phase system (AMTPS) is an extractive technique of biomolecule, where it is based on the differential partitioning behavior of biomolecule between a micelle‐rich and a micelle‐poor phase. In this study, an AMTPS composed of a nonionic surfactant, Triton X‐100 (TX‐100) was used for purifying a bacteriocin‐like inhibitory substance (BLIS) derived from Pediococcus acidilactici Kp10. The influences of the surfactant concentration and the effect of additives on the partitioning behavior and activity yield of the BLIS were investigated. The obtained coexistence curves showed that the mixtures of solutions composed of different surfactant concentrations (5–30% w/w) and 50% w/w crude load were able to separate into two phases at temperatures of above 60 °C. The optimum conditions for BLIS partitioning using the TX‐100‐based AMTPS were: TX‐100 concentration of 22.5% w/w, CFCS load of 50% w/w, incubation time of 30 min at 75 °C, and back‐extraction using acetone precipitation. This optimal partitioning resulted in an activity yield of 64.3% and a purification factor of 5.8. Moreover, the addition of several additives, such as sorbitol, KCl, dioctyl sulfosuccinate sodium salt, and Coomassie® Brilliant Blue, demonstrated no improvement in the BLIS separation, except for Amberlite® resin XAD‐4, where the activity yield was improved to 70.3% but the purification factor was reduced to 2.3. Results from this study have demonstrated the potential and applicability of TX‐100‐based AMTPS as a primary recovery method for the BLIS from a complex fermentation broth of P. acidilactici Kp10. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 35: e2719, 2019