An iron-impregnated chitosan granular adsorbent was newly developed to evaluate its ability to remove arsenic from water. Since most existing arsenic removal technologies are effective in removing As(V) (arsenate), this study focused on As(III). The adsorption behavior of As(III) onto the iron-impregnated chitosan absorbent was examined by conducting batch and column studies. Maximum adsorption capacity reached 6.48 mg g(-1) at pH = 8 with initial As(III) concentration of 1007 mu g L-1. The adsorption isotherm data fit well with the Freundlich model. Seven hundred and sixty eight (768) empty bed volumes (EBV) of 308 mu g L-1 of As(III) solution were treated in column experiments. These are higher than the empty bed volumes (EBV) treated using iron-chitosan composites as reported by previous researchers. The investigation has indicated that the iron-impregnated chitosan is a very promising material for As(III) removal from water. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.