Investigations were conducted in a batch reactor system to study the adsorption behavior of four anionic dyes (Methyl orange (MO), Orange IV (OIV), Reactive brilliant red X-3B (X-3B), and Acid fuchsine (AF)) on ammonium-functionalized MCM-41 (NH3+-MCM-41) from aqueous medium by varying the parameters such as contact time, initial dye concentration, pH and competitive anions. Dye adsorption was broadly independent of initial dye concentration. The intraparticle diffusion model was the best in describing the adsorption kinetics for the four anionic dyes on NH3+-MCM-41. The adsorption data for the four dyes were well fitted with the Langmuir model. The electrostatic interaction was considered to be the main mechanism for the dye adsorption. Finally, it was observed that the anion of soft acid inhibited the adsorption capacity significantly. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.