For the purpose of oil-water separation, the magnetic superhydrophobic melamine (MA) sponge was coated with the fluoroalkylsilane-modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles by a drop-coating method, in which the silicone adhesive was utilized to strengthen the binding effect between the Fe(3)O4 nanoparticles and the MA sponge. The successful preparation of fluoroalkylsilane-modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles and magnetic superhydrophobic MA sponge were confirmed by SEM, TEM, two dimensional EDS mapping, TGA, FTIR, XPS, WAXD, VSM, and contact angle measurement. The as-prepared surface-modified MA sponge could effectively absorb different oils including pump oil, peanut oil, silicone oil, kerosene, and gasoline with the maximum absorption capacities ranging from 59 g/g to 77 g/g. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the surface-modified MA sponge had an excellent ability to separate oil and organic solvent from water by direct absorption under magnetic control or gravity-driving filtration. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.