The flotation of graphite particles in aqueous solutions of inorganic electrolytes was shown to depend on both the nature of the cation/anion pair and the range of the bubble/particle electrostatic interaction. For several electrolytes, as the Debye length of the solution approached the decay length of the hydrophobic attraction, then flotation began to occur. Using earlier reported data (7), it was also possible to relate the flotation to s urface tension/electrolyte concentration gradients and bubble co al es cence behaviour of the different electrolyte solutions. Higher flotation recoveries were attributed to an increase in the collision probability between the graphite particles and higher concentration of smaller non-coalescing bubbles and also from the increase in stability of the froth. However, it has been shown from previous studies that the gas solubility decreased with increasing electrolyte concentration, and depended on the hydration entropy of the cation (7). This phenomenon was explained terms of competitive utilization of water molecules in the hydration of cations and a consequent loss or gain in gas solubility. Although a reduction in the electrostatic interactions between particle and bubble assisted flotation, in addition, we propose that the increase flotation performance results from the inhibition of coalescence of bubbles which is also linked with dissolved gas concentration gradients in the electrolyte solutions.