Crosslinked chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) beads were prepared by suspension of chitosan-PVA aqueous solution in a mixture of toluene and chlorobenzene. Some quantity of the water was distilled out as an azeotrope along with toluene-chlorobenzene and the droplets were chemically crosslinked by adding glutaraldehyde. The prepared crosslinked beads were characterized by FTIR, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The developed beads were used as an adsorbent for the adsorption of Cd(II) from wastewater. Effect of time, temperature, pH, adsorbent dose and adsorbate concentration on the adsorption of Cd(II) were investigated in batch process and pseudo-first and pseudo-second-order kinetic models were also evaluated. The equilibrium adsorption obeyed Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms as well as the thermodynamic parameters such as Delta G degrees, Delta H degrees, and Delta S degrees were calculated. From thermodynamic data, it was found that the adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous. The maximum adsorption of Cd(II) ions was found to be 73.75% at pH 6 and indicated that developed material could be effectively utilized for the removal of Cd(II) ions from wastewater. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.