The kinetics, the sorption capacities, pH and temperature dependence of sorption of humic acids (HAs) of Turkish brown coals with respect to Zn(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), Co(II) and Pb(II) ions were investigated, and the roles of the carboxylic and phenolic groups in the adsorption of metals ion on HAs were searched in this work. These metal ions are able to form complex compounds with carboxylic and phenolic groups of HAs. Adsorption equilibrium was achieved in between 50 and 60 min for all studied cations. HAs extracted from different brown coals have been characterized by chemical and physical methods. The chemical properties of HAs showed differences depending on the source from which they were obtained. The sorption of metals on the surface of HAs depends strongly on the pH, and sorption decreases with decreasing pH. Maximum removal of metal ions was demonstrated at pH values of 4.1-5.0. The Langmuir adsorption isotherm was used to describe observed sorption phenomena. The Delta G(0) became negative as the temperature increased, and so the equilibrium constant decreased slightly. The investigation proved that the HAs are suitable materials for the studied heavy metal ion removal from aqueous solution and could be considered as potential material for purification of effluent polluted with toxic metal ions.