A low-cost adsorbent was prepared from sludge and straw by pyrolysis in a dried state with the surface area of the adsorbent of 829.49 m(2).g(-1), micropore volume of 0.176 cm(2).g(-1) and average pore radius of 5.0 nm. The kinetic, equilibrium isotherm and thermodynamic characteristics of trisodium 1-(1-naphthylazo)-2-hydroxynaphthalene-4', 6,8-trisulphonate (acid scarlet 3R) onto the adsorbent from sludge and straw were investigated. The results indicated that the pseudo second order adsorption was the predominant adsorption mechanism of acid scarlet 3R. Thus, the adsorption phenomenon was suggested as a chemical process. The adsorption data were fitted better with Langmuir model than Freundlich model, indicating that the adsorption of acid scarlet 3R belonged to the monolayer adsorption and mainly occurred in micropores.