BACKGROUND: Vanadium is included in the USEPA Contaminant Candidate List. It is an essential dietarymineral but it becomes toxic at high concentrations causing health problems. In this study, nanosized zero-valent iron (nZVI) was synthesized and the applicability of the sorbent was investigated for the removal of V(V) in water samples. RESULTS: The synthesized sorbent is characterized by scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, thermo gravimetric and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis. Particle size and zeta potential measurements of the sorbent were also elucidated. Batch type adsorption experiments were performed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and the effects on the adsorption of V(V) of pH, sorbent amount, contact time, initial concentration and temperaturewere investigated. Langmuir isothermmodelwas found to characterize the uptake ofV(V) by nZVI and the sorption kinetics fitted betterwith the pseudo-second-ordermodel. The proposed methodwas applied for the removal of V(V) ion in real water samples and quantitative results (>85%) were obtained. CONCLUSION: nZVI has demonstrated its potential use for the removal of V(V) ions in aqueous solutions. The sorbent warrants an evaluation of a scale up procedure in water remediation studies with the advantages of having a high adsorption capacity, ease of preparation and being environmentally friendly. (C) 2017 Society of Chemical Industry