Effects of nitrate ðNO À 3 Þ, chloride (Cl À ), sulfate ðSO 2À 4 Þ, and acetate (Ac À ) on Cu 2+ adsorption and affinity of the adsorbed Cu 2+ were evaluated in two Fe and Al enriched variable charge soils from Southern China. The maximum adsorption of Cu 2+ (M, a parameter from the Langmuir isotherm model) in the presence of different anions decreased in the order Cl À > Ac À > NO À 3 > SO 2À 4 for both soils. The clayey loamy soil (mixed siliceous thermic Typic Dystrochrept, TTD), developed on the Arenaceous rock, adsorbed less Cu 2+ than the clayey soil (kaolinitic thermic Plinthudults, KTP), derived from the Quaternary red earths, regardless of anion type present in the medium. The affinity of adsorbed Cu 2+ to both soils could be characterized by the Kd (distribution coefficient) values and successive extraction of the adsorbed Cu 2+ with 1-mol NH 4 Ac L À1 . The log 10 Kd value was smaller for the TTD soil than for the KTP soil and decreased in the order of Cl À > NO À 3 > SO 2À 4 > Ac À at low initial Cu 2+ concentrations ( £ 40 mg Cu 2+ L À1 ), whereas at 80 mg Cu 2+ L À1 , the log 10 Kd value was similar for NO À 3 , SO 2À 4 , and Ac À , but was slightly higher for Cl À . Complete extraction of Cu 2+ adsorbed in the presence of Ac À was achieved. Influence of NO À 3 and SO 2À 4 on the affinity of adsorbed Cu 2+ was similar, but the effects of Cl À depended on the initial Cu 2+ concentrations. The extracted percentage of the adsorbed Cu 2+ in the presence of NO À 3 or SO 2À 4 increased with increasing Cu 2+ adsorption saturation. The presence of Cl À , NO À 3 , or SO 2À 4 markedly decreased the equilibrium solution pH for both soils with increasing initial Cu 2+ concentrations, and the delta pH values at the highest Cu 2+ level were 0.5, 0.63, and 0.55 U for the TTD soil and 0.79, 0.84, and 0.93 U for the KTP soil, respectively for the three anions. The presence of Ac À had a minimal influence on the equilibrium solution pH because of the buffering nature of the NaAc/HAc medium which buffered the released protons. The effects of anions on Cu 2+ adsorption and affinity of the adsorbed Cu 2+ were dependent on anion types and were apparently related to the altered surface properties caused by anion adsorption and/or the formation of anion-Cu 2+ complexes.Abbreviations: AAS -atomic absorption spectrometry; Ac À -acetate; CEC -cation exchange capacity at pH 7.0; Cl À -chloride; Freundlich equation -q ¼ k F C n , where q is the amount of adsorbed Cu 2+ , k F is a constant related to total adsorption capacity of the soils.; Kd -distribution coefficient; KTP soil -a soil of kaolinitic thermic Plinthudults; Langmuir equation -q ¼ (k L MC)/(l+k L C), where q is the amount of adsorbed Cu 2+ , M is the maximum adsorption of Cu 2+ , and k L is a constant related to binding energy; NaAc/HAc medium -a buffering medium consisting of sodium acetate and acetic acid; NH 4 Acammonium acetate; NO À 3 -nitrate; rcf -rotational centrifugal force; SO 2À 4 -sulfate; TTD soil -a soil of mixed siliceous thermic typic Dystrochrept B...