Salicylic acid is a drug responsible for many cases of intoxication since it is present in many medications and prescription drugs such as aspirin. Activated charcoal is the most used adsorbent for the treatment of poisoning cases and also pharmaceutical wastewaters. The applicability of polymeric resins for the salicylic acid adsorption is the objective of this research work. The adsorptive behavior of two different polymeric adsorbents has been compared with activated charcoal from an equilibrium and kinetic point of view. The effect of temperature on the adsorption process was addressed for all the adsorbents considered. Langmuir and Nitta isotherm models were used to fit equilibrium data for each of the adsorbents and temperature. A simple linear driving force model has been used to quantify intraparticle adsorption kinetics. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.