The physical properties of the alginate component in four different brown seaweeds (Sargassum fluitans, Ascophyllum nodosum, Fucus vesiculosus, and Laminaria japonica) were characterized using potentiometric titration, C-13-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), chemical analysis, and viscosity measurements. The heavy metal binding capacities of the corresponding seaweeds were directly proportional to their respective total carboxyl group content, and related to the electronegativity of the elements investigated (Ca, Zn, Cd, Cu, and Pb). The uronic acid composition or sequence of the alginate component did not affect the metal uptake properties of the biosorbents studied here. However, the alginate leaching owing to its solubilization by Na ions was observed to decrease with increasing intrinsic viscosity of the extracted alginate, related to its molecular weight, and with increasing apparent acidic dissociation constant, related to the alginate density inside the biomass.