The partial phase behaviour of quintinary microemulsions containing water (0.5 m NaCl), sodium dodecylfate, octane and alcohol, where the alcohol is a butanol or pentanol isomer, has been determined. In addition, the partition of the cosurfactant between the phases has been investigated, as well as in detail for the 1-butanol system. The efficiency of the cosurfactant for forming microemulsions is found to exhibit no simple relationship to its solubility properties. In addition, while branched alcohol cosurfactants promote the formation of solution phases at high surfactant contents.