Chitosan, an environment-friendly biopolymer, has been adopted to remedy contaminated soils by heavy metals of Cu2+ and Cd2+. Experimental results demonstrated that, within the first 7 cl, available Cu2+ and Cd2+ contents in three textural soils (clay, loam, and sandy soil) decreased significantly after chitosan application. Moreover, the available Cu2+ and Cd2+ contents in soil layers of 14-16 cm and 24-26 cm, were significantly reduced than that in 4-6 cm after 7 d of chitosan application. Our investigation suggested that application of 0.9 g chitosan kg(-1) DW soil for 7 d could be perfect for the remediation of the soil contaminated by Cu2+ and Cd2+. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.