Symonds, 34, who is currently playing for the Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League, has a strike rate of 156.79 and an average of 37.43 in Twenty20 cricket.
A century off 34 balls for Kent in 2004 is the fastest hundred scored in English Twenty20 cricket.
As well as his destructive batting, Symonds is an athletic all-round fielder and can bowl medium-pace or off-spin. “Signing a player with the unique abilities of Andrew Symonds will add a huge ‘X Factor’ to our squad,” Surrey manager Chris Adams said in a statement.
“I have watched him take apart some of the best bowlers in the world and am hugely excited to see him exhibit his skills in front of packed houses around the country.”
Symonds said he had always enjoyed playing in England.
“I am really looking forward to playing with the Surrey Lions. I consider myself lucky to have the opportunity to play this exciting form of tournament cricket in so many different regions,” he said.
Symonds’s Australian playing contract was revoked last year when he was sent home from the Twenty20 World Cup in England shortly after rejoining the national squad following counselling for alcohol problems.
In 2008, he said he had started drinking heavily to cope with the pressures of being constantly in the spotlight as an international cricketer.
In the same year, Symonds was involved in an altercation at a Brisbane hotel and was sent home from Darwin after missing a team meeting before a series against Bangladesh.
