Two types of N‐substituted long‐chain alkanolamine surfactants were prepared. Firstly, octadecyl glycidyl ether was synthesized from octadecanol and epichlorohydrin. Subsequently, a ring‐opening reaction of the epoxide ring of octadecyl glycidyl ether was performed with monoethanolamine and diethanolamine to synthesize bis(octadecyloxy)‐2‐ hydroxypropylmonoethanolamine (D‐MEA)and octadecyloxy‐2‐hydroxypropyldiethanolamine(M‐DEA) without catalyst at 60 °C, respectively. And their corresponding tertiary amine salts bis(octadecyloxy)‐2‐hydroxypropylmonoethanolamine hydrochloride (D‐MEAS) and octadecyloxy‐2‐hydroxypropyldiethanolamine hydrochloride (M‐DEAS) were attained by neutralization with hydrochloric acid. The study on these four surfactants included their surface active properties, foaming abilities, emulsifying properties, lime‐soap dispersion abilities and wetting abilities. The results show that D‐MEAS possesses the best surface active property and lime‐soap dispersion ability. D‐MEA has better foaming ability and foaming stability. The wetting ability of M‐DEA and the emulsifying property of M‐DEAS are prominent.