A novel nanocomposite derived from cationically modified guar gum and in-situ incorporated SiO2 NP (cat-GG/SiO2) has been developed. The cat-GG has been synthesised by grafting poly(2(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) on GG backbone. Various analyses endorse the suitability of cat-GG as well-organized template for the development of homogeneous SiO2 NPs. Dye adsorption studies predict that cat-GG/SiO2 efficiently and selectively adsorb anionic dyes (reactive blue-RB and Congo red-CR) from mixture of dye solutions. This is because of high surface area, multifunctional chelating H-bonding interactions and electrostatic interactions of cationic adsorbent with anionic dyes. Dyes adsorbed on the composite surface are desorbed reversibly using pH 10 stripping solution. Besides, cat-GG/SiO2 has been recycled efficiently with no prominent loss of dye uptake capacity, even after 4 adsorption-desorption cycles. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.