The main kaolin deposits in north Brazil present are contaminated with colored titanous impurities, Conventional beneficiation processes do not completely remove TiO2. The difficulty in separation is mainly due to the ultra-fine size of the minerals. This work presents a study of an alternative kaolin purification method based on selective adsorption of soluble polymers. In the process, floes were generated by interaction of anionic polyacrylamide with titanous impurities and were separated from the kaolin suspension through sedimentation. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.