Magnetic chitosan nanocomposites (MCNCs) were synthesized by an inexpensive reduction precipitation technique using a glutaraldehyde cross-linking agent at room temperature. Successful chitosan coating of iron oxide nanoparticles was confirmed by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction data revealed crystalline particle sizes for the iron oxide and MCNCs to be around 6-7 and 8-9 nm, respectively. In addition, the MCNCs exhibited supermagnetic properties having magnetic saturation of 17.5 emu/g. The synthesized MCNCs showed 91.60% absorption of Acid Red 2, while iron oxide 16.40% absorption; enhanced performance in MCNCs was resulted from presence of free amino and hydroxyl groups. Furthermore, the optimum pH and adsorbent concentration were 3 and 1.0 g/L, respectively. The Redlich-Peterson isotherm fit experimental data better than Langmuir and Freundlich models, based on non-linear regression. Finally, MCNCs showed 96% American Dye Manufacturing Institute (ADMI) value removal and gave recovery efficiency of 100%, making them attractive for further practical applications. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.