Loess, obtained from Haenam in Korea, was evaluated as an adsorbent of total phosphorus (TP) of municipal wastewater. Adsorption studies were performed on 200 mL of municipal wastewater and considered adsorption time, pH, loess dosage, loess particle size, agitation rate, temperature and initial concentration to determine the optimum operation conditions. The adsorption capacities were measured to evaluate the effectiveness of loess. This study found that optimal adsorption time was 480 min. TP adsorption capacities improved according to increases in loess dosage, initial concentration, agitation rate and temperature. However, total phosphorus (TP) removal efficiencies decreased when pH is high and loess particle becomes large. The experimental data obtained from this study indicated that loess is an applicable adsorbent for the removal of TP of the municipal wastewater. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.