A novel metal ion imprinted polymer was prepared by the surface molecular imprinting technique. Trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TRIM), zinc ions, and 1,12-dodecanediol-O,O'-diphenyl phosphonic acid (DDDPA) were used as the matrix-forming monomer, imprint molecule, and functional monomer, respectively. We have prepared Zn(II)-imprinted microspheres utilizing water-in-oil-in-water emulsions, which are spherically well defined and uniform. TRIM comprises of three polymerizable groups that serve to align the recognition sites produced on the polymer surface with better template effect. We conducted diagnostic zinc adsorption tests by using the Zn(II)-imprinted and unimprinted polymers in order to make an assessment on the effectiveness of TRIM-based and divinylbenzene-based imprinted polymers. The template effect of the TRIM-based polymer was enhanced by the high rigidity of the polymer matrix compared to that of the imprinted polymer whose matrix is divinylbenzene. In addition, the adsorption equilibrium constant was evaluated on the basis of the Langmuir analysis for the adsorption data. The method to prepare metal-imprinted microspheres on the surface of polymers crosslinked by TRIM is easy, and the adsorbent produced can be readily used without subsequent grinding or sieving.