A defibrating method includes the steps of: preparing a material which contains fibers and a compound represented by the following formula (1); and defibrating the material.

RO(0)m(PO)nH  (1)

In the formula, R represents an alkyl or an alkenyl group having 6 to 22 carbon atoms or an alkylaryl group including an alkyl group which has 4 to 20 carbon atoms, E represents an ethylene group, P represents a propylene group, m and n each represent an average number of added moles, m represents a numerical value of 0 to 20, n represents a numerical value of 1 to 10, and (EO)m(PO)n represents a block addition structure.