Polyamide (PA) composite membranes are the most popular commercial form of reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes. The ability to independently tailor support layer and thin film characteristics permitted optimization of the overall composite membrane structure, permeability, selectivity, and stability over the past three decades. As a result, composite RO and NF membranes are now commonly employed in water purification applications such as desalination of brackish and sea water, fresh water softening and organic removal, ultrapure water production, and advanced wastewater purification. The physiochemical properties of RO and NF PA membranes are largely determined by their PA chemistry and coatings, if any. Knowledge on such inherent relationship is critically needed in advancing membrane technology. The surface properties (roughness, hydrophilicity, and surface charge) and transport properties (permeability and rejection) are found to be highly inter-dependent. Over the past decade, there have been intensive and continuous efforts in the development of TFC membrane, both from the industry and academia with the interests to further improve the membrane productivity and selectivity as well as its tolerance against chlorine, solvent, fouling, etc. Advances in the characterization of polyamide thin films have been primarily hampered by the difficulty of inspecting thin films in isolation (i.e., separated from the polysulfone support). The objective of this study was to find suitable organic solution for isolating active polyamide layer of some commercial reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes. RO and NF composite polyamide membranes used in this study were: SWC4+, XLE, ESPA and NF90. This study reports on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques for characterizing polyamide active layer. Furthermore, to provide more information about active layer surface and selectivity, permeate flux, J was measured and water permeabillity, Lp was calculated.