Provided is a cationic group-containing cellulose ether which, when incorporated in a hair wash, is able to give an excellent smoothness property and its sustained feeling, finger combability and coated feeling in rinsing, and which, when incorporated in a skin cleanser, is able to give an excellent moist feeling to the skin after washing, and also provided are a surfactant composition, a hair wash composition, a skin cleanser composition, a hair conditioner composition and a hair treatment composition containing the cationic group-containing cellulose ether.[1] A cationic group-containing cellulose ether, which has a main chain derived from an anhydroglucose, and in which the degree of substitution with a cationized oxyalkylene group per the anhydroglucose unit is from 0.01 to 1.0, the degree of substitution with a glycerol group is from 0.5 to 5.0, and the degree of substitution with a group that contains a hydrocarbon group, has from 3 to 7 carbon atoms and has a specific structure is from 0.0001 to 0.2 [2] a surfactant composition containing the cationic group-containing cellulose ether, a surfactant and water [3] a hair wash composition and a skin cleanser composition containing the cationic group-containing cellulose ether, a surfactant and water [4] a hair conditioner composition containing the cationic group-containing cellulose ether, a surfactant, an oily agent and water [5] a hair treatment composition containing the cationic group-containing cellulose ether, and at least one treatment agent selected from a hair-coloring dye, an oxidizing agent, an alkali agent and a keratin-reducing agent.
