A novel CeO2/Fe2O3/graphene nanocomposite was synthesized by the hydrothermal process and used for arsenic removal. Box-Behnken Design was employed to optimize adsorptive removal of As(III) and As(V) from aqueous solutions. The instrumental technique like SEM, EDX, TEM, HRTEM, XRD, BET and FTIR spectrometer were used to characterize the material. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted with three input variables including initial concentration (10-50 mg/L), adsorbent dosage (0.100-0.200 g/L), and pH (3-10). Regression analysis indicated the good fitness of experimental data to a quadratic polynomial model with the determination coefficient (R-2) value of 0.9957 and 0.9929 for As(III) and As(V). Model accuracy was confirmed by ANOVA and lack-of-fit test. Optimum conditions for maximum removal of As(III) (Initial concentration = 10.52 mg/L, adsorbent dose = 0.198 g/L and pH = 7.84) and As(V) (Initial concentration = 10.78 mg/L, adsorbent dose = 0.197 g/L and pH = 3.05) were analyzed by the model. The removal percentage of As(III) and As(V) was found to be 98.53% and 97.26% in the optimum condition. The results confirmed the high efficiency of response surface method for the removal of arsenic from aqueous solutions by CeO2/Fe2O3/graphene nanocomposite. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.