The application of nanotechnology in water treatment is predicted to continue to grow in coming years, worldwide. Environmental scientists are currently focusing on development of cost-effective and eco-friendly nanoadsorbents, nanomembranes, nanofilters and nanophotocatalysts to treat contaminated water. In this research work, chitosan-titanium dioxide (Cs-TiO2) nanocomposite was prepared using a simple one-step method. The physicochemical properties of nanocomposite were studied using spectroscopy and microscopy techniques. The consequences of experimental parameters on adsorption performance of Cs-TiO2 for Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II) and Pb(II) metal ions were studied in details. The Langmuir model fitted the adsorption isotherm very well with correlation coefficient values of R
2 > 0.99. The separation factor (R
L) values were in the range of 0-1.0 for all metal ions studied, suggesting the adsorption activity was favorable. The maximum adsorption capacities (Q
max) of Cs-TiO2 for Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II) and Pb(II) metal ions were determined as 133.33, 416.67, 151.51 and 277.78 mg/g, respectively. From Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra, the appearance and wavenumber of absorption bands for functional groups of Cs-TiO2 changed and shifted after adsorption of metal ions. The X-ray Diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analyses revealed the change in crystallinity and surface morphology after interaction of Cs-TiO2 with metal ions studied. Overall, findings obtained from this research work highlight the feasibility of Cs-TiO2 as a nanoadsorbent for the treatment of water contaminated by toxic Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II) and Pb(II).