Recovery of selenium from copper-based sulfuric acid solution is of significant importance for the supply of this scattered metal. In order to overcome the drawbacks of high energy/reagents consumption and low recovery ratio in conventional processes, a cost-effective electrochemical recovery process of Se and Cu was first developed using low-cost stainless steel cathodes. It has been demonstrated that Se and Cu ions can be simultaneously electrodeposited, and the co-deposition is mass transport controlled quasi-reversible reaction. Consequently, a cylinder turbulent cell with larger surface area cathode was employed for the extraction of metals from dilute solution (2.0 g/L Cu2+ and 0.3 g/L Se4+. Nanosized powder was obtained due to the excellent mass transport. 93.2% copper and 97.6% selenium was successfully extracted with a current efficiency of 81.3%. The as-prepared metal powder could be readily flushed and collected from the cell with water. This mass transport-enhanced approach may serve as a promising alternative to overcome the drawbacks of existing metal recovery and water purification. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.