Bio-adsorbent modified natural rubber (modified NR) was prepared, by placing the sulfonic acid functional group on the isoprene chain. This modification was carried out with the aim to prepare material capable to remove heavy metals from aqueous solution. The structures of modified NR materials were characterized by FT-IR and NMR spectroscopies. Thermal gravimetric analysis of modified NR showed that the initial degradation temperature of rubber decreases with increasing amount of polyacrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulfonic acid (PAMPS) in the structure. In addition, water uptake of the rubber based materials was studied as a function of time and content of PAMPS. The influence of the amount of PAMPS grafted onto NR, time, pH, concentration of metal ions, temperature, and regeneration were studied in terms of their influence on the adsorption of heavy metals (Pb2+, Cd2+ and Cu2+). The adsorption isotherms of Pb2+ and Cd2+ were fitted to the Freundlich isotherm model, while Cu2+ was fitted to the Langmuir isotherm. However, the results from these two isotherms resulted in a similar behavior. The adsorption capacity of the modified NR for the various heavy metals was in the following order: Pb2+similar to Cd2+>Cu2+. The maximum adsorption capacities of Pb2+, Cd2+, and Cu2+ were 272.7, 267.2, and 89.7 mg/g of modified rubber, respectively. Moreover, the modified natural rubber was used for the removal of metal ions in real samples of industrial effluents where the efficiency and regeneration were also investigated. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.