Citralidene chitosan, prepared by condensation of citral and chitosan, was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry and evaluated for its Pb(II) and Hg(II) sorption capacity. The contact time for Pb(II) and Hg(II) sorption was found to be 5 and 4 h, respectively. The sorption data best fitted to pseudo second-order equation. The equilibrium sorption data were found to be best fitted to Langmuir model. The studies revealed that the citralidene chitosan has different binding sites and the sorption was spontaneous and exothermic. Citralidene chitosan was found to be an efficient and cheap sorbent for Pb(II) and Hg(II).