In the present work, brown algae Laminaria japonica gel (CAG) was prepared by treatment with glutaraldehyde. The CAG gel has shown a low affinity for iron, copper, lead, nickel, manganese and zinc ions when the pH of solution is higher than 1.0, and the gel exhibited different adsorption behavior for Mo(VI) and Re(VII), which was difficult to separate each other. The adsorption equilibrium for Mo(VI) and Re(VII) on the CAG gel was best described by the Langmuir model and the maximum adsorption capacity for Mo(VI) and Re(VII) was evaluated as 65.90 mg g(-1) and 38.19 mg g(-1), respectively. Adsorption mechanism, kinetic and thermodynamic study for the adsorption of CAG gel was discussed in detail. Moreover, reutilization of CAG gel was confirmed up to four adsorption-elution cycles in column-mode operation with no damage of gel, packed in the column. More important, the result provides a new approach for fractional recovery and separation of Mo(VI) and Re(VII) wastewater by using the CAG gel. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.