Shoaib Akhtar took a wicket on his debut but Surrey's relegation fight was hit by rain as Hampshire closed a first day reduced to 39 overs on 116-2.
Shoaib's first four-over spell yielded 0-16 and it was Alex Tudor who struck with his second ball as Michael Brown edged onto his leg-stump playing back.
But Shoaib, 33, seeking to regain his place in the Pakistan side, captured 1-7 from his next spell of four overs.
Michael Lumb and Chris Benham shared 56 before rain ended the day at 1500 BST.
Gloomy conditions were evident throughout and there was a 30-minute delay to the start.
Shoaib's first delivery fizzed through to Jon Batty's gloves but though he bowled with great pace his length was a little awry in the early stages.
Left-hander Michael Carberry started fluently, flicking Shoaib twice to the fine-leg boundary in the paceman's second over and driving Jade Dernbach for a straight four.
West Indian Pedro Collins replaced him, but it was Tudor, back at his first county on loan from Essex, who removed Brown, courtesy of a bottom edge.
Only seven runs were scored in the half an hour before lunch, but three overs after the interval Shoaib struck, having changed ends.
Carberry had turned his second ball of the afternoon for four, his fifth boundary, when he edged one that moved away through to the keeper and departed for 31.
Bad light halted play for 17 minutes and though the players briefly returned, the weather intervened again and brought an end to the day's proceedings.
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