In this article experimental results have been presented on response characteristics of the potential-controlled friction of ZrO2/stainless steel sliding contacts in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) aqueous solutions. Two methods for modifying interfacial potential, by using an electrochemistry station and a signal generator, respectively, of the ball-on-disk contacts, are described firstly. Then friction tests under steady and dynamic potential conditions are reported. From the steady potential experiment result, a potential range in which friction coefficient varies with potential quasi-linearly has been found. The potential range is within the electrochemical window of the system, and neither hydrogen nor oxygen evolution happens. When interfacial potential is modulated within the potential range in the form of a triangular or a sinusoidal wave, by using either an electrochemistry station or a signal generator, friction coefficient varies in the same form between lower and higher levels, as long as the frequency of the applied potentials is lower than a break frequency. When the interfacial potential is changed abruptly from the open circuit potential down to a negative value, a response time ranging between 0.2 and 1.5 s, depending on the magnitude of the potential and the SDS concentration, is observed for friction coefficient to increase from the lower level of about 0.1 to the higher level of about 0.45. When the interfacial potential is elevated suddenly to 0 V by shorting or to a small positive value, friction coefficient can recover from the higher level to the lower level within a short time, 0.5–2 s, depending on the SDS concentration, which is much shorter than the recovery time of friction in the case of just switching-off the voltage. At last, effect of solution temperature on the response time of friction to stepwise changes in potential is also presented.