The effect of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) on the swelling, erosion and release behavior of HPMC matrix tablets was examined. Swelling and erosion of HPMC matrix tablets were determined by measuring the wet and subsequent dry weights of matrices. The rate of uptake of the dissolution medium by the matrix was quantified using a square root relationship whilst the erosion of the polymer was described using the cube root law. The extent of swelling decreased with increasing SDS concentrations in the dissolution medium but the rate of erosion was found to follow a reverse trend. Such phenomena might have been caused by the attractive hydrophobic interaction between HPMC and SDS as demonstrated by the cloud points of the solutions containing both the surfactant and polymer. Release profiles of nimodipine from HPMC tablets in aqueous media containing different concentrations of SDS were finally studied. Increasing SDS concentrations in the medium was shown to accelerate the release of nimodipine from the tablets, possibly due to increasing nimodipine solubility and increasing rate of erosion by increasing SDS concentrations in the dissolution medium.