In this work, magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) were used as novel adsorbents for selective adsorption of 3-methylindole from model oil. The MMIPs were synthesized by precipitation polymerization and surface molecularly imprinted technique, using Fe3O4 nanoparticles as magnetically susceptible component, methylacrylic acid as dressing agent and functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as crosslinker, and 3-methylindole as template molecule. The MMIPs were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometer, and thermogravimetric analyzer, respectively. The adsorption performances of MMIPs were investigated by batch adsorption experiments in terms of kinetics, isotherms, and selective recognition adsorption, respectively. The results indicate that MMIPs have high recognition ability and fast binding kinetics for 3-methylindole. Meanwhile, the adsorption equilibrium time was about 2 h and the equilibrium adsorption amount was approximate to 38mg g(-1) at 298 K. The heterogeneous MMIPs were modeled with pseudo-second-order and Langmuir isotherm equation. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.