The visualization of monolayers at the air/water interface by Brewster Angle Microscope (BAM) was used to watch the movement of the domains of surfactant or surface‐active complexes without any adscititious probe materials, and to examine the changes in surface rheology of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM)/surfactant systems. Clear indications of rheological properties at the air/water interface are obtained over substantial concentration regions of the HPAM/Sodium Dodecyl Benzene Sulfonate (SDBS) and HPAM/Triton X‐100/SDBS systems, respectively. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 78: 704–706, 2000