A hand vacuum cleaner has a cyclone provided in the air flow path and a dirt collection chamber external to the cyclone. The cyclone air inlet and the cyclone air outlet are located at the cyclone chamber rear end and the dirt outlet is located at the cyclone chamber front end. When the upper end of the hand vacuum cleaner is positioned above the lower end of the hand vacuum cleaner, the central longitudinally extending axis of the cyclone is oriented generally horizontally, the cyclone air inlet is located at a lower end of the cyclone and the dirt outlet is located at an upper end of the cyclone.