Abstract. Accumulation of heavy metals in aqueous environment has raised increasing concerns for public health. An alginate based biodegradable adsorbent was successfully developed for fast removal of heavy metals, and could adsorb 99.4% Cu(II) in 10 min when immersed in 10 mM Cu(II). Surface characteristics exhibited 25.65 wt% occupancy of Cu(II), further demonstrating the high adsorption capacity of the adsorbent. The adsorbent can be regenerated using either 10 wt% of Na 2 CO 3 or 0.1 M HCl. Reusability under each condition did not show decrease. Adsorption of Fe(II) was also tested. The adsorbent showed 95% removal of Fe(II) in just 2 min. These results demonstrate successful design and preparation of a novel biodegradable adsorbent with a matrix of properties suitable for application in fast removal of heavily polluted waste water containing a high content of metal ions.