Dodecylsulfate- and dodecyl benzene sulfonate-hydrotalcites were prepared by calcination-rehydratation method. The surfactants intercalation in the interlayer space of hydrotalcite were checked by PXRD and FTIR spectroscopy where the resulting materials were found to be similar to those reported in the literature and were used to remove a basic dye (safranine) from aqueous solutions. The sorption kinetics data fitted the pseudo second order model. The isotherms were established and the parameters calculated. The sorption data fitted the Langmuir model with good values of the determination coefficient. The thermodynamic parameters calculated from Van't Hoff plots gave a low value of Delta G degrees (<-20 kJ mol(-1)) indicating a spontaneous physisorption process. Two regeneration cycles were processed by acetone extraction leading to the same removal capacity of the obtained materials as the original surfactant-intercalated hydrotalcites. The UV-vis spectra of the recovered extracts were similar to the spectrum of safranine, which means that the dye was recovered without any modification. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.