The water-insoluble resin poly(sodium 4-styrene sulfonate-co-acrylic acid) was synthesized through a solution radical polymerization with ammonium persulfate as an initiator and N,N'-methylene-bis-acrylamide as a cross-linking reagent (CR) at different amounts (2, 4, 6, and 8 mol %). The polymerization yield ranged from 75 to 91%). The metal ion retention properties were studied by batch and column equilibrium procedures for: Cd(II), Cr(III), Zn(II), Al(III), Pb(II), and Hg(II). These properties were investigated under competitive and noncompetitive conditions. The effect of pH, particle size, time, temperature, and initial metal ion concentration on metal ion adsorption was investigated. The resins showed a high retention ability for Hg(II) ions over 85% at pH 2 and for Cd(II), Cr(III), Zn(II), and Pb(II) over 96% at pH 5. The maximum adsorption performance for Pb(II) was achieved as 148.5 mg/g at an optimum pH. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 114:1587-1592, 2009