The present study was aimed at examining the ability of a natural zeolitic volcanic tuff to remove Pb(II) ions from aqueous solutions under various conditions. The effects of various parameters such as optimum adsorbent mass, contact time, pH of the medium, Pb(II) concentration, and temperature were investigated. In addition, different adsorption isotherms were obtained using concentrations of Pb(II) ions ranging from 1 mg/L to 200 mg/L The adsorption process follows second-order reaction kinetics and follows the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The thermodynamic parameters are discussed in this article, including changes in Gibbs free energy, entropy, and enthalpy, for the adsorption of Pb(II) on tuff, and it is revealed that the adsorption process was spontaneous and exothermic under natural conditions. The maximum removal efficiency of 92% was obtained at a pH of 5 with a 25-min contact time for a 10 g/L solid-to-liquid ratio and an initial heavy metal concentration of 100 mg/L (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.