This paper describes the sorption of arsenate on Al-Mg and Fe-Mg layered double hydroxides as affected by pH and varying concentrations of inorganic and organic ligands, and the effect of residence time on the desorption of arsenate by ligancls. The capacity of ligands to inhibit the fixation of arsenate followed the sequence: nitrate < nitrite < sulphate < selenite < tartrate < oxalate << phosphate on Al-Mg-LDH and nitrate< sulphate approximate to nitrite < tartrate < oxalate < selenite << phosphate on Fe-Mg-LDH. The inhibition of arsenate sorption increased by increasing the initial ligand concentration and was greater on Al-Mg-LDH than on Fe-Mg-LDH. The longer the arsenate residence time on the LDH surfaces the less effective the competing ligands were in desorbing arsenate from sorbents. A greater percentage of arsenate was removed by phosphate from Al-Mg-LDH than from Fe-Mg-LDH, due to the higher affinity of arsenate for iron than aluminum. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.