In this work, fibrillar collagen on scales of Corvina fish (Micropogonias furnieri) was crosslinked and used as a new adsorbent for sorption of Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions. Characterization has suggested that the crosslinked collagen of Corvina scale has higher denaturation temperature in relation to the raw scales. In addition, electrostatic interactions between collagen positive charges and chromate negative charges constitute the majority of the interactions. Solution microcalorimetry experiments have indicated that water swelling of the crosslinked scales is slightly exothermic and increased with increasing temperature. Sorption of Cr(VI) by crosslinked scales increases with increasing initial Cr(VI) concentration in solution and decreases with temperature increasing. The kinetic data of Cr(VI) sorption on crosslinked scales were best fitted to a multilinear exponential model. The values of Cr(VI) diffusion constants increase with both temperature and initial Cr(VI) concentration in solution. The maximum sorption capacity of the new adsorbent for Cr (VI) was found at 39 mg g-1 and is higher than some commercial adsorbent samples. So, chemically crosslinked Corvina scale is a promising adsorbent for sorption of Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012