The fluorescence properties of piroxicam in various micellar media were investigated. It was found that the presence of 0.05M sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactant (pH 1.5–2, nitric acid) causes an approximately 5-fold enhancement in the fluorescence of this drug. An experimental design approach based on central composite design was used to investigate the influence of the main variables (pH, SDS concentration and temperature) on the fluorescence signal. Based on the obtained results, a micelle-enhanced fluorescence method was developed for the determination of piroxicam in pharmaceuticals and also in spiked human serum (after extraction with diethyl ether). The linear calibration ranges of the methods were 0.05–1.5 and 0.2–10µgmL^–1 for aqueous solution and serum samples, respectively. The detection limits were 0.015 and 0.10µgmL^–1 in aqueous and serum samples, respectively.