To develop low cost metal adsorbents with less secondary pollution, metal adsorption from the aqueous solutions by the raw os sepiae (ROS) and alkali (NaOH)-pretreated OS (APOS) of the cuttlefish (Sepiella maindroni Rochebrune) was characterized. The capacities of adsorption of ROS and APOS were estimated to be 299.26 mg Cu g(-1) and 299.58 mg Cu g(-1), respectively. Metal adsorption by OS was significantly improved by appropriately increasing initial pH in the solution but hardly affected by temperature change within a wide range of 15-45 degrees C. Cu adsorption of both ROS and APOS was well described neither by Langmuir model nor by Freundlich model. Metal adsorption by OS fell in the order of Fe > Cu approximate to Cd > Zn in the solution with mixed metals, but followed the sequence of Cd > Cu > Fe Zn in the solutions respectively, with a single metal of Fe, Cu, Cd and Zn. The changes in Ca amounts in OS and solutions in adsorption strongly correlated with removal efficiencies of the metals. Obvious shifts of stretching bands of numbers of groups in OS after and before adsorption and the pretreatment occurred. It were concluded: (1) that metal adsorption by OS involves ion exchange, which occurred mainly between Ca rather than K and Na that OS itself contains and metals that were added in the solution, (2) that metal adsorption-promoting effects by NaOH pretreatment likely involve deprotonation of surface groups in OS, exposure of more functional groups, and increase in specific surface areas and (3) that related mechanisms for adsorption also likely include surface complexation, ectrostatic adsorption and even micro-deposition. The results also indicated that OS is a very promising absorbent for metal removal from electroplating wastewater. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.