In the current work, authors have performed extensive spray cooling experiments on a 6 mm thick hot stainless steel plate (>900 °C). The work has been separated into two distinctive parts. The first part involves optimization of water flow rate and spray impingement height based on maximum surface cooling rate and heat flux value. The highest cooling rate and heat flux of 133.7 °C/s and 2.21 MW/m 2 were attained for a water flow rate of 16 lpm and impingement height of 6 cm. In the second part, different surfactants (cationic, CTAB; anionic, SDS; non-ionic, Tween 20), and polymer (PVP, water soluble) were added in to the water to study its impact on heat transfer parameters such as surface cooling rate, heat flux, and heat transfer coefficient. Amongst all the additives, the maximum enhancement in cooling rate and critical heat flux was achieved for non-ionic (Tween 20) based water solution which is 25.6% (168.2 °C/s) and 19.91% (2.65 MW/m 2 ) higher than what had been attained by water spray. High speed photography was used at a lower temperature to visualize a single droplet impact and to understand the effect of surface tension and underlying physics on the heat transfer phenomenon. This study revealed that upon impingement, surfactant and polymer added drops disintegrate into multiple drops, increasing the overall contact area, and thereby enhancing the heat transfer rate. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd