A novel kind of red-blood-cell-like bovine serum albumin (BSA)/Zn-3(PO4)(2) hybrid particle is prepared at room temperature by a facile and rapid one-step method based on coordination between BSA and zinc ion. The morphology of the monodisperse hybrid particle shows oblate spheroidal type with a one sided single hole on the surface. The hybrid particle is constructed with BSA/Zn-3(PO4)(2) nanoplates of 35 nm thick. The average particle size of hybrid particle is 2.3 mu m, and its BET specific surface area is 146.64 cm(2)/g. To clarify the evolution of BSA/Zn-3(PO4)(2) hybrid particle, SEM and elemental analysis as a function of particle growth time are investigated. The formation mechanism of BSA/Zn-3(PO4)(2) hybrid particle, which can be described as crystallization, coordination and self-assembly process, is illustrated in detail. The as-prepared BSA/Zn-3(PO4)(2) hybrid particle is used for adsorption of Cu2'. The hybrid particle displayed excellent adsorption properties on Cu2+. The adsorption efficiency of BSA/Zn-3(PO4)(2) hybrid particles at 5 min and 30min are 86.33% and 98.9%, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity is 6.85 mg/g. Thus, this kind of novel adsorbent shows potential application value in ultra-fast and highly efficient removal of Cu2+. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.