A novel clay-alumina ceramic composite membrane has been fabricated comprising of hydroxyethyl cellulose and CuO nanoparticles for separation of Cr (VI) and Pb (II) from contaminated water. It was prepared by slurry casting method over low cost clay-alumina ceramic substrate. The active layer formation of the prepared membrane was confirmed by FESEM, EDX and XPS analysis. The pore structure of macroporous ceramic substrate was improved from 0.5 to 1.5 mu m to 3 nm by addition of CuO nanoparticles in combination with biopolymer which resulted in consequent improvement of heavy metal rejection rate. The permeability was determined as 34.99 Lm(-2) h(-1) bar(-1). The membrane exhibited significant performances and stability on rejection of toxic Pb (II) and Cr (VI) ions from spiked solution and simulated wastewater. Although the operational pressure range was 0-5 bar, maximum percentage of rejection achieved was 97.14% for Pb (II) at 2 bar transmembrane pressure from spiked water. Similarly maximum percentage of rejection was obtained at 2 bar transmembrane pressure for Cr (VI) was 91.44%. The reusability of the membrane was also studied and obtained results suggested that the prepared membrane may be used for real application. It is believed that this CuO nanoparticles containing clay-alumina ceramic composite membrane will be an effective solution for removal of heavy metals from contaminated water.