Micro-and nano-sized magnetic adsorbents on the basis of elemental metals, iron oxides, and ferrites, supported by inorganic (carbon, graphene, silica, zeolites) or organic (macromolecules, polysaccharides, polymers, biomolecules) compounds, are reviewed. Main attention is paid to magnetic hydrogels, xerogels, and aerogels due to their high number of environmental and biomedical applications. Role of carbohydrates and polysaccharides (starch, alginic acid, chitosan, etc.) for stabilization of magnetic nanoparticles and use the formed composites for adsorbtion purposes is described. Magnetic adsorbents are mainly used for heavy metals removal, separation, destruction and adsorption of oil, dyes, toxic organic compounds, several biomolecules and drugs, as well as widely in the catalytic processes. These last applications of magnetic adsorbents, in particular ferrites, are emphasized. Their main advantage for these or other possible applications is that the adsorbent or catalyst can be easily removed from reaction media after adsorption or completion of reactions via a simple magnet. Magnetic behavior studies of magnetic adsorbents are also discussed.