A novel ethylenediamine functionalized chelating resin (ED resin) with simple technology, high adsorption capacity and significant selectivity was synthesized. It was characterized by elemental analysis and infrared spectra, and was applied for determination of metal ion in tea samples. The optimized synthesis conditions is molar ratio ED:Cl = 2:1, 100 degrees C as reaction temperature and DMF as solvent. ED resin can be used in separating Cu(II) from aqueous solutions. The adsorption processes were evaluated by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Pseudo-second-order kinetics showed better accordance. Thermodynamic parameters indicated that adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. Thomas model was applied to determine the characteristic parameters of column useful for process design. Finally, Cu(II) can be eluted by 1.0 mol L-1 HCl solution. MS method was applied for copper determination after the pre-concentration step, and the results indicated that ED resin is essentially free from interferences. which can contribute to accurate determination in waters and foods. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.