The adsorption of methylene blue (MB) onto the surface of cobalt doping hectorite (Co-hectorite) was systematically studied. The physical properties of Co-hectorites were investigated, where characterizations were carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Electron Diffraction Spectrum (EDS) techniques, and morphology was examined by nitrogen adsorption. The sample with a Co content 5% (m/m) had a higher specific Surface area than other Co-hectorites. The pore diameters were distributed between 2.5 and 5.0 nm. The adsorption results revealed that Co-hectorite surfaces possessed effective interactions with MB and bases. and greatest adsorption capacity achieved with Co content 5%, where the best-fit isotherm model was the Langmuir adsorption model. Kinetic studies were fitted to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The intraparticle diffusion was not the rate-limiting step for the whole reaction. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.