The present work demonstrates the preparation of banana frond derived activated carbon (BFAC) by microwave induced KOH activation for the adsorptive removal of boron and total iron from the semi-aerobic landfill leachate. The physical and chemical properties of BFAC were evaluated by pore structural analysis, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The effects of adsorbent dosage, contact time, solution pH and temperature on the adsorption performance were examined in a batch mode study. The experimental results manifested that the adsorptive removal of boron and total iron increased with increasing the adsorbent dosage, contact time and temperature, accomplished the adsorptive removal of boron and total iron of 93.56% and 95.14%, respectively. Equilibrium data was best confronted to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, while the adsorptive removal of boron and total iron onto BFAC was satisfactory described by the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models. The findings illustrated the applicability of BFAC as an ideal on-site solution for the adsorptive treatment of boron and total iron from the contaminated landfill leachate. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.