The water-insoluble resin poly(2-acryl-amido-2-methyl-1-propanosulfonic acid-co-4-vinyl pyridine), through a radical polymerization solution, was synthesized with ammonium persulfate as an initiator and N,N-methylene bisacrylamide as a crosslinking reagent. The metal-ion-retention properties were studied by batch and column equilibrium procedures for the following metal ions: Hg(II), Cu(II), Cd(II), Zn(II), Pb(II), and Cr(III). These properties were investigated under competitive and noncompetitive conditions. The effects of the pH, maximum retention capacity, and regeneration capacity were studied. The resin showed a high retention ability for Hg(II) ions at pH 2.0. The retention of Hg(II) ions from a mixture of ions was greater than 90%. The resin showed a high selectivity for Hg(II) with respect to other metal ions. The Hg(II)-loaded resin was able to be recovered with 4M HClO4, The retention capacity was kept after four cycles of adsorption and desorption. The retention properties for Hg(II) were very similar with the batch and column methods. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.