The effect of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and triton X-100 (TX100) impregnation into chitosan hydrogel beads formed by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) gelation (CSB) was investigated for the adsorption of Congo red (CR) from aqueous solutions. An impregnation of CTAB at 0.1 wt% into CSB increased adsorption from 97.46 mg/g to 113.24 mg/g, while 0.5 wt% TX100 impregnation into CSB registered a very small increase from 112.56 mg/g to 115.64 mg/g. CSB/CTAB exhibited similar adsorption at all pH levels (4-9), but CSB and CSB/TX100 showed lower adsorption at higher pH values. The Sips isotherm model was the best fit for all bead varieties, and the Sips maximum adsorption capacity value of CSB/CTAB (271.74 mg/g) was higher than that for CSB/TX100 (242.72 mg/g) or CSB without surfactant impregnation (174.83 mg/g). The experimental kinetic values of all varieties of beads for CR adsorption followed a pseudo-first-order rate model better than a pseudo-second-order rate model.