To address the issue of clinochlore and other gangue minerals easily reporting to the concentrate during ilmenite flotation, thereby reducing concentrate quality, this study synthesized p-methylbenzohydroxamic acid (MBHA) using p-methylbenzoic acid as the raw material. The compound was characterized by FTIR and ¹H NMR spectroscopy and subsequently applied to ilmenite flotation. Artificial mixed ore flotation tests demonstrated that under conditions of pH 7.0 and MBHA dosage of 300 mg/L, the ilmenite recovery reached 84.26% with a TiO₂ grade of 43.36% in the concentrate. Contact angle and adsorption analyses reveal that at an MBHA dosage of 300 mg/L, the adsorption capacity reaches 0.046 mg·g^-1, indicating MBHA adsorption on ilmenite surfaces, while the surface contact angle increases from 43.60° to 80.00°, demonstrating enhanced hydrophobicity. FTIR and XPS analyses confirmed strong chemisorption via "O–M–O" five-membered chelation with Fe³⁺/Ti⁴⁺ on ilmenite, while weak physical adsorption dominated on clinochlore. Zeta potential measurements showed significant negative shifts (up to -13.40 mV at pH 6.0–8.0) due to MBHA chemisorption on ilmenite. This work provides a theoretical foundation for efficient low-grade ilmenite separation.