A molecular dynamics simulation employing three-body corrected pair potentials to describe the ion-water interaction has been performed to investigate the structural and dynamical properties of Bi(III) in dilute aqueous solution. A first shell hydration complex forming a tri-capped trigonal prism was observed. The second shell consists in average of 21 water molecules, the mean ligand residence time of the second shell was evaluated as 8.5 ps. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.