Chitosan bead was synthesized for the removal of a cationic dye malachite green (MG) from aqueous solution. The effects of temperature (303, 313 and 323 K), pH of the solution (2-11) on MG removal was investigated. Preliminary kinetic experiment was carried out up to 480 min. The sorption equilibrium was reached within 5 h (300 min). In order to determine the adsorption capacity, the sorption data were analyzed using linear form of Langmuir and Freundlich equation. Langmuir equation showed higher conformity than Freundlich equation. Ninety-nine percent removal of MG was reached at the optimum pH value of 8. From kinetic experiments, it was obtained that sorption process followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. This study showed that chitosan beads can be excellent adsorbents at high pH values. Activation energy value for sorption process was found to be 85.6 kJ mol(-1). This indicates that sorption process can be assumed as chemical process. Due to negative values of Gibbs free energy, sorption process can be considered as a spontaneous. In order to determine the interactions between MG and chitosan bead, FTIR analysis was also conducted. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.