Chelating fibers containing polymer ligands such as carboxymethylated polyallylamine, carboxymethylated polyethyleneimine, and a copolymer of diallylamine hydrochloride/maleic acid were prepared with a wet spinning technique using mixtures of a viscose solution and the polymer ligands. The chelating fibers obtained effectively adsorbed various metal ions, including Cd(II), Co(II), Cr(III), Cu(II), Fe(III), Mn(II), Ni(II), Pb(II), Ti(IV), and Zn(II). The metal ions adsorbed could be readily desorbed using 0.1 or 0.5 mol L-1 HNO3. The chelating fiber containing carboxymethylated polyallylamine was available for the separation of some metal ions in synthetic wastewater containing a large amount of Na2SO4. The wet spinning technique using a solution containing a base polymer and a polymer ligand was quite simple and effective and would be applicable for preparing various chelating fibers. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.