The present investigation evaluates the sorption effectiveness of Pb(II) and Cd(II) ions on iron ore slime (IOS) obtained from Jindal Steel Ltd., Vijayanagaram, India. The sorption followed pseudo-second-order kinetics for both the cations. Pb(II) and Cd(II) sorption increased with the increase in pH from 2 to 4.5. The sorption data fitted well to Freundlich model as compared to Langmuir model. Synergistic effect of Pb(II) and Cd(II) on their sorption on IOS sample showed that Pb(II) sorption increases in presence of Cd(II) whereas Cd(II) sorption decreases. Presence of chloride or sulphate resulted in increased Pb(II) sorption but adversely affected Cd(II) sorption. The XRD patterns of Pb(II) adsorbed on IOS sample showed disappearance of some silica peaks and shifting of hematite peaks corresponding to 10 4 and I 10 plane. For Cd(II) sorbed IOS sample, only peak shift for hematite of 104 and 110 plane was observed. Shifting of IR bands indicated that the Pb(II) sorption occurred through an inner sphere mechanism where as Cd(II) sorption occurred through outer sphere mechanism. EPMA studies showed that Pb(II) form a uniform thin layer and Cd(II) concentrate only on iron oxide phase. Regeneration and stability data on metal ion loaded IOS sample has been included. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.