Activated carbon and natural clay are extremely promising for the removal of dyes in a water solution. Natural clay and activated carbon were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques, and the food dye was characterized by UV-Visible. The effects of various experimental parameters, such as initial carmine concentration, contact time, temperature and pH were studied. The removal of the dye increases with the decrease in the initial concentration of carmine and the contact time of the solution. The percentage of carmine removal increases accordingly, reaching 97% for activated carbon and 67% for natural clay. Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models were used for the adsorption equilibrium descriptions. The data was very well corrected with these models. Monolayer adsorption capacities were equal to 31 mgg-1 at pH 8.0 and 27°C. Adsorption measurements show that the adsorption process is very fast and physical in nature. Thermodynamic parameters such as enthalpy ∆H°, ∆S° entropy and ∆G° free enthalpy were also evaluated to reveal the nature of adsorption. The results explain that the adsorption process is an exothermic, spontaneous physisorption.