The sorption of naphthenic acids on clays, soils and oil sands coke was examined using a batch sorption partitioning method. The influence of different clay minerals, exchangeable cation, salt content, organic content in the soil samples, and the pH of the solution on the sorption of naphthenic acids was determined. Experiments were conducted using both commercial naphthenic acids (Merichem) and extracted naphthenic acids originating from tailings pond water. The pH was determined to have the greatest influence with partitioning coefficients (KD) for clays ranging from 18 to 57 mL g-1 for pH 6, and 0 to 10 mL g-1 for pH 8. These results indicate high mobility of naphthenic acids in soil-water systems.