In this study, novel surface-modified hematite nanoparticles (alpha-Fe2O3 NPs) were synthesized by hydrothermal method at 250 degrees C using iron (III) chloride hexahydrate (FeCl3 center dot 6H(2)O) and oleic acid (C18H34O2) as raw materials for removal of lead ions (Pb2+) from aqueous solution. This adsorbent was characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FT-IR), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). According to the results, the average diameter and length of the synthesized nanorod alpha-Fe2O3 were 30-60 nm and 400-700 nm, respectively, when its specific surface are a was 31.29 m(2) g(-1). Furthermore, in batch experiments, the lead ions adsorption onto the alpha-Fe2O3 NPs was found to be dependent on pH, adsorbent weight, cation concentration and contact time. Thus, the optimum condition to uptake Pb2+ on alpha-Fe2O3 NPs was obtained, and the mechanism adsorption of lead ions onto the nano-crystals well fitted the Ho model as linear pseudo-second order kinetics. In contrast, analysis of equilibrium data revealed that the Langmuir isotherm model was suitable to describe Pb2+ adsorption onto alpha-Fe2O3 NPs and the maximum uptake capacity was estimated to be 111 mg g(-1) at 25 +/- 1 degrees C. Therefore, it can be concluded that the synthesized novel surface-modified alpha-Fe2O3 NPs is an environment-friendly and a promising adsorbent for the removal of lead ions as heavy metal from aqueous solutions.