Adsorption of precious metal ions from aqueous solutions has earned great concern recently due to environmental protection factor and the value of precious metals. In this article, a novel adsorbent silica gel microspheres encapsulated by amino functionalized polystyrene (SG-PS-NH2) has been synthesized, and the adsorption selectivity and the dynamic adsorption properties of SG-PS-NH2 for Cu(II), Ag(I), and Au(III) has been investigated. The results displayed that SG-PS-NH2 had excellent adsorption for Au(III)/Ag(I) in binary ion systems, especially in the systems of Au(III)-Zn (II), Au(III)-Ni(II), and Ag(I)-Zn(II). The dynamic adsorption showed that the adsorption capacities of SG-PS-NH2 for CU(II), Ag(I), and Au(III) increased with the prolonging of contact time, and the affinity order of three metal ions adsorbed by of SG-PS-NH2 is Au(III) > Ag(I) > Cu(II), which is inversely correlated with their electronegativities. The regeneration capacities of SG-PS-NH2 were investigated by using the eluent solution of 0.5% thiourea in 1 mol/L HCl, and it is found that the changes of the adsorption capability are relatively small after several cycles of adsorption-desorption. Thus, silica gel encapsulated by polystyrene containing amino groups (SG-PS-NH2) is favorable and useful for the removal of precious metal ions because it is eco-friendly and easier to reuse. The comparison of SG-PS-NH2 with other adsorbents suggests that SG-PS-NH2, have great potential applications in environmental protection and the recovery of precious metals. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 117: 3645-3650, 2010