The prepared membranes were tested for removal of reactive blue 19 as a model anionic dye. Response surface methodology was employed for the modeling of adsorption capacity of fibers. A second-order empirical relationship between adsorption capacity and independent variables (initial pH, contact time, initial dye concentration and amount of fibers) was obtained. Pareto analysis established that initial pH was the most effective parameter. The adsorption capacity value of reactive blue 19 on chitosan hollow fibers was 454.5 mg g(-1). The adsorption was well described by pseudo-second-order kinetics and Freundlich equation. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.