Linear alkylbenzenesulfonates (LAS) are an important group of anionic surfactants within the detergent industry and have also been suggested for use in mineral flotation and enhanced oil recovery. Because of its great industrial importance, there are a number of publications on the adsorption of LAS on metal oxides; however, the effect of co‐adsorbing inorganic species on LAS adsorption has rarely been addressed. In this study we investigated the effect of calcium and carbonate ions on the adsorption of sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (DBS) onto hematite at pH 8 and 10.5 using in‐situ ATR‐FTIR spectroscopy. DBS adsorption on hematite was found to increase as pH was decreased from 10.5 to 8. Calcium ions promoted accumulation of DBS on hematite, with a larger amount of DBS on the surface at pH 10.5. Carbonate ions did not have any major effect on DBS adsorption on hematite. In the presence of both calcium and carbonate, the amount of DBS on the hematite surface was higher than without the two co‐adsorbing ions but lower than with calcium ions alone. Likely, precipitation of calcite reduced the total concentration of calcium ions available for the interaction with DBS on the hematite surface. The results presented in this work clearly indicate the importance of water chemistry for DBS adsorption and allow predicting adsorption behavior of DBS on iron oxides from natural and process waters of different chemistry, which is important for the industrial applications of DBS and the fate of DBS in the environment.