Highly selective adsorbent for dibenzothiophene (DBT) was successfully designed and prepared. Molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) and magnetic hydroxyapatite (MHAP) were used as building blocks for the novel nanocomposite adsorbent. MIP/MHAP was synthesized by grafting polymerization and surface molecular imprinting using DBT as a template molecule. The microstructure and morphology of the designed nanoadsorbent were examined via FTIR, SEM and VSM. Specific surface area and pore size distribution were determined by Quantachrome Nova 3200S automated gas sorption apparatus. Additionally,static adsorption experiments, isotherms and selective recognition adsorption studies were carried out. Reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) was used to determine DBT.The experimental data exhibits excellent adsorption capacity for DBT reaches 247 mg/g within 60 min.Competitive adsorption results proved that MIP/MHAP have a greater affinity towards DBT molecules than benzothiophene analogues. Pseudo-second-order model and the Langmuir isotherm were used to describe the adsorption process. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.