Two novel adsorbents to remove excess arsenate and arsenite in the drinking water were prepared for the first time by grafting monoamine and diamine, respectively, and then coordinating Fe3+ on silica gel that was obtained using sol-gel method with two-step acid-base catalysis. It was found that both adsorbents had mesoporous structure, large specific surface, and high amino and iron content according to N-2 adsorption isotherms, FTIR, XPS, and NMR analysis. The removal ability and adsorption rate of the adsorbents were very high for both As(V) and As(III). Langmuir and Freundlich models were used to fit the adsorption isotherm and investigate the adsorption mechanism. The effects of chloride and sulfate anion on the removal of arsenate and arsenite for the two adsorbents were also studied. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.