Lasers, surfactants and chemiluminescence possess certain unique properties that can be used to gain important insight and/or to improve measurement capabilities in analytical chemistry. In this review, summaries of recent work in our laboratory are given to demonstrate, for example: (1) by combining the collimation and monochromaticity  properties of a laser, spatially and temporally resolved information within a graphite furnace atomizer can be obtained; (2) by taking advantage of the intense emission of an argon ion laser in the visible spectrum, sensitive and selective fluorescence detection of certain important biomolecules such as tetrapyrroles and lipids can be achieved; (3) by exploiting the micellar and cloud point properties of surfactants, sensitive fluorescence detection of bilirubins and efficient extraction of porphyrins are possible; and (4) by employing the peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence reaction, the sensitive and selective screening of coproporphyrin in urine, and the quantitation of amino-acids after separation by thin-layer chromatography and capillary electrphoresis are feasible