Heavy metal pollution from industrial wastewater is a worldwide environmental issue. Biosorption of heavy metals by using biosorbents derived from various types of biomass has been shown to be effective for the uptake of heavy metal ions. In this study, biosorbents derived from the biomass of a group of marine macroalgae were used for the removal and recovery of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions.: Results indicated that the biosorbents have high uptake capacities and affinities for a number of heavy metal ions. The uptake capacities of the biosorbents were in the range of 1.0 to 1.5mmol.g(-1) for divalent heavy metal ions. The kinetics of the uptake process was fast and the process can be used in both batch and fixed-bed operations. It appears that the biosorption process by using biosorbents from marine macroalgae can be an efficient and cost effective technology for the treatment of heavy metal containing wastewater.