The adsorption equilibrium study of three different types of dyestuff effluent on the sawdust, polymerized sawdust and activated carbon prepared from sawdust has been studied. The applicability of the Langmuir and Freundlich equation has been tested for equilibrium data of which Freundlich isotherm model is found to be the most appropriate. From the equilibrium data it is observed that sawdust, polymerized sawdust and sawdust carbon are good adsorbents for removal of acidic, basic and disperse dyes from dyestuff effluents. The pH has significant influence on the adsorption. Acidic and disperse dyes show higher adsorption at higher pH, whereas, basic dyes show higher adsorption at lower pH.