The cation exchange properties of alkali and alkaline earth metal cations at room temperature were investigated on an ultrafine, highly charged Na-4-mica (with the ideal mica composition Na4Mg6Al4Si4O20F4.xH(2)O). Ultrafine mica crystallites of 200 nm in size led to faster Sr2+ uptake kinetics in comparison to larger mica crystallites. The alkali metal ion (K+, Cs+, and Li+) exchange uptake was rapid, and complete exchange occurred within 30 min. For the alkaline earth metal ions Ba2+, Ca2+, and Mg2+, however, the exchange uptake required lengthy periods from 3 days to 4 weeks to be completed, similar to its Sr uptake, as previously reported. Kinetic models of the modified Freundlich and parabolic diffusion were examined for the experimental data on the Ba2+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ uptakes. The modified Freundlich model described well the Ba2+ ion uptake kinetics as well as that for the Sr2+ ion, while for the Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions the parabolic diffusion model showed better fitting. The alkali and alkaline earth ion exchange isotherms were also determined in comparison to the Sr2+ exchange isotherm. The thermodynamic equilibria for these cations were compared by using Kielland plots evaluated from the isotherms.