This work involves the extraction of sulfur from model fuel using four ionic liquids (ILs) as solvents. For this purpose, a mixture of hexane and xylene (1:1 v/v) was used as model fuel with thiophene (1000 μg/mL). Four hydroxyl ammonium ILs, namely 2-hydroxyethanaminium formate, 2-hydroxyethanaminium acetate (HEA), 2-hydroxyethanaminium propionate and 2-hydroxyethanaminium lactate, were used and found to be effective for the extraction/removal of sulfur from model fuel. The effect of contact time and the mass ratio of IL to the model fuel were also studied. A maximum of 72 extraction was achieved in single stage, whereas > 99 was achieved in four-stage cocurrent extraction using HEA as solvent. The regeneration and recycling possibility of the ILs for the extraction has proved their potential application for commercialization. © 2011 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.