In this paper, we have demonstrated a microwave heating method to fabricate poly(o-phenylenediamine)/reduced graphene oxide (PoPD/RGO) composite nanosheets. During the reaction process, graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were used as oxidant to polymerize o-phenylenediamine (oPD) monomer to form PoPD on their surface, while themselves were reduced. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicate the successful production of PoPD/RGO composite nanosheets with crumpled morphology. The as-prepared PoPD/RGO composite nanosheets were tested and evaluated as a potential adsorbent for the removal of lead ions. The results showed that the adsorbent exhibited a favorable performance for the removal of lead ions and the adsorption processes were well fitted by pseudo-second-order kinetic model. 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.