The application of cow dung ash was assessed for-the removal of organic contamination from the wastewater using landfill leachate of known Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) concentration in batch mode. The effect of various parameters like adsorbents dose, time, pH and temperature was investigated. Results indicate that upto 79% removal of COD could be achieved using activated cow dung ash (ACA) at optimum temperature of 30 degrees C at pH 6.0 using 20 g/L dose in 120 min, whereas cow dung ash (CA) shows 66% removal at pH 8.0 using 20 dose, also in 120 min. Data also shows that ACA exhibited 11-13% better removal efficiency than CA. COD removal efficiency of various adsorbents was also compared and it was found that ACA offers significantly higher efficiency. Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherms were also applied, which depicts good correlations (0.921 and 0.976) with the experimental data. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images shows that after the activation, carbon particles disintegrate and surface of particles become more rough and porous, indicating the reason for high adsorption efficiency of ACA. Hence, ACA offers a cost-effective solution for the removal of organic contaminants from the wastewater and for the direct treatment of landfill leachate. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.