A B S T R A C TThe effect of gyrolite structure properties on Zn 2+ ion adsorption in an alkaline solution was determined. Gyrolite was synthesized for 32, 48, 72, 120, and 168 h at 200˚C from a stoichiometric composition (molar ratio of C/S = 0.66) of the initial CaO and SiO 2 ·nH 2 O mixtures. It was established that gyrolite does not regroup into related compounds, when the hydrothermal synthesis duration was varied from 32 to 168 h, although its structure changed as the duration of the synthesis was prolonged. Also, the adsorption capacity of gyrolite for Zn 2+ ions depends on the structural properties of the adsorbent. By prolonging the duration of synthesis from 32 h to 168 h, the adsorption capacity of gyrolite decreased from 99% (29.92 mg Zn 2+ /g) to 93% (27.91 mg Zn 2+ /g). It was found that the adsorption reactions are not reversible processes, and follow by a pseudo-second-order model. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the crystal structure of gyrolite remained stable after the adsorption processes.