A self?made long?chain cationic surfactant (SFC111) and a low interfacial energy substance (SFC115) were used to prepare a cationic emulsion for further application as surfactant for low permeability oil and gas reservoirs. The dispersion of the emulsion in water, the contact angle of the core before and after the emulsion treatment and the surface tension were investigated by particle size analyzer, contact angle meter, and rotating drop interfacial tension meter, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters of the emulsion at 20 ℃ and 70 ℃ were calculated. Particle size of 0.5% concentration emulsion is D₅₀=420.8 nm at 20 ℃, D₅₀=728.0 nm at 70 ℃.The contact angle of clear water on the surface of the core increases from 10° to 120°. The emulsion could reduce the surface tension of water to 24 mN/m at 70 ℃, indicating the good waterproof lock performance. The adsorption characteristic of emulsion conforms to the langmuir adsorption theory. The thermodynamic results show that as the temperature increases, the amount of adsorption on the surface of the emulsion decreases, the area occupied by the molecules on the surface of the emulsion goes down, and the thickness of the adsorption layer decreases.