polyaniline hollow microsphere (pnHM)/fe 3 o 4 magnetic nanocomposites have been synthesized by a novel strategy and characterized. Subsequently, PNHM/Fe 3 o 4-40 (Fe 3 o 4 content: 40 wt.%) was used as an adsorbent for the removal of arsenic (As) from the contaminated water. Our investigations showed 98-99% removal of As(III) and As(V) in the presence of PNHM/Fe 3 o 4-40 following pseudo-second-order kinetics (R 2 > 0.97) and equilibrium isotherm data fitting well with Freundlich isotherm (R 2 > 0.98). The maximum adsorption capacity of As(III) and As(V) correspond to 28.27 and 83.08 mg g −1 , respectively. A probable adsorption mechanism based on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis was also proposed involving monodentate-mononuclear/bidentate-binuclear As-Fe complex formation via legend exchange. In contrast to NO 3 − and SO 4 2− ions, the presence of PO 4 3− and CO 3 2− co-ions in contaminated water showed decrease in the adsorption capacity of As(III) due to the competitive adsorption. The regeneration and reusability studies of spent PNHM/Fe 3 o 4-40 adsorbent showed ~83% of As(III) removal in the third adsorption cycle. PNHM/Fe 3 o 4-40 was also found to be very effective in the removal of arsenic (<10 μg L −1) from naturally arsenic-contaminated groundwater sample. Arsenic (As) remains one of the major sources of toxic pollutant in groundwater, affecting millions of people throughout the world. It associated into groundwater from several sources of natural and anthropogenic origins. The chronic exposure of arsenic contaminants in water beyond the World Health Organization (WHO) permissible limit (10 µg L −1) results in a serious toxicological and carcinogenic effect on human health 1. It is also widely established that the presence of arsenite [As(III)] in water is more toxic and soluble compared to arsenate [As(V)] 2,3. As a result, several technologies namely, co-precipitation, coagulation, oxidation, ion exchange, adsorption, membrane separation, etc. have been adopted for the treatment of such contaminated water 4,5. However, many conventional and other approaches are not cost-effective and environmental friendly towards arsenic removal selectivity. For example, the precipitation of iron coagulation is cost-effective; however, it generates huge amounts of sludge, leading to secondary pollution problems 6. Similarly, membrane separation exhibits high efficiency but involves high operational cost 6. In this regard, the removal of toxic pollutants from water through adsorption has been receiving considerable attention due to its sludge-free operation, cost-effectiveness, high efficiency/selectivity, ease of use, and reusability facilities 7. Several nanoparticles, such as activated carbon, carbon nanotubes, graphene, manganese oxide, zinc oxide, titanium oxide, and ferric oxides emerged as effective nanoadsorbents give better performance compared to other conventional adsorbents in removal of arsenic, phosphate, selenium and nitrite anions, and other heavy metals from drinking water 8-13. In this co...