This study was conducted to investigate advanced removal characteristics of toxic 2-chlorophenol in water by copper supported nano zeolite (Cu-nano zeolite). The surface area and surface positive charged of the nano zeolite were increased after doping with copper ions, leading to enhance in 2-chlorophenol adsorption capacity. Advanced adsorption characteristics of 2-chlorophenol by Cu-nano zeolite were evaluated studying the effect of pH, reaction time, adsorbent dose, initial solution concentration, regeneration of adsorbent and even adsorption cost and the process was applied to the direct treatment of wastewater. The maximum adsorption capacity for 2-chlorophenol by Cu-nano zeolite was 204.68 mg/g at optimum pH 6.0 with 150 min of reaction time. Regeneration characteristics of 2-chlorophenol loaded adsorbent were also analyzed. Even after 9 cycles of adsorption-desorption, the percentage removal of 2-chlorophenol was maintained at more than 80% of the initial value. The adsorption cost required for removal 2-chlorophenol by Cu-nano zeolite was 0.58 US$/g, which is lower by 14% than those of activated carbon. The Cu-nano zeolite method was applied to treat industrial wastewater containing high concentration of toxic 2-chlorophenol (420 mg/L) collected from chemical plants. The result showed that 81.8% of 2-chlorophenol was removed from wastewater. Based on these findings, Cu-nano zeolite can be used for effective and economic removal of 2-chlorophenol from wastewater. (C) 2016 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.