Gallic acid (GA) and formaldehyde condensation reaction was carried out under alkaline condition to prepare the gallic acid-formaldehyde resol resin (GAR). Obtained resin was used as adsorbent for recovery of palladium(II) and rhodium(III) ions from chloride-containing solutions. This kind of recovery was very simple and useful for generating little secondary wastes. Interaction of adsorption also was investigated: Chloropalladium(II) species were reduced to Pd(0), while hydroxyl groups of GAR were oxidized during the adsorption. Proposed adsorption of the aquachlororhodium(III) species mostly takes place via ligand exchange mechanism. GAR, Rh-adsorbed GAR, and Pd-adsorbed GAR were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectrometry, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopy.