A silica support impregnated with 2-hydroxy-5-nonylacetophenone oxime (LIX 84) was prepared after surface modification by gamma-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. Fixed-bed tests were conducted to investigate the capabilities of the prepared adsorbent with respect to the selective removal of copper ions from multi-metal solutions. Break-through curves were obtained using the modified silica for a solution containing Cu2+, Cd2+, Ni2+, Co2+ and Zn2+, as well as an industrial electronics wastewater sample. The copper adsorption capacities for the multi-metal solution and the wastewater were 0.175 and 0.198 mmolg(-1), respectively under the conditions used in this study. The copper recovery ratios for the modified silica treated with the multi-metal solution and the wastewater were 86 and 91%, respectively after treating with 0.1 moldm(-3) HNO3. The results show that the modified silica, prepared here, has potential value for the selective removal of copper ions from multi-component aqueous solutions containing multi-metals using a fixed-bed reactor.