The adsorption properties of some novel chelating resins (CRs) bearing iminodiacetate groups for removal of heavy metal ions like: Cu(II), Co(II) and Ni(II) from aqueous solutions comparative with the commercial resin Amberlite IRC-748 have been studied in this work by a batch equilibrium technique. Quantitative analysis for adsorption was conducted using UV-vis spectroscopy to investigate the kinetics, adsorption isotherm and thermodynamics of the removal process considering equilibration time, pH, metal ion concentration and temperature as controlling parameters. The metal adsorption capacities, at pH 5, were in the order Cu(II) > Ni(II) > Co(II), for both the CR with 10 wt.% DVB (CR-10) and the commercial resin Amberlite IRC-748. The adsorption capacities on CR-10 were higher for Ni(II) and Co(II) ions, but lower for Cu(II) ions compared with Amberlite IRC-748. Both Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms well fitted on the adsorption results of Cu(II), Ni(II) and Co(II) ions on all iminodiacetate resins. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.