Thioctic acid functionalized silica coated magnetite nanoparticles, RS-SR-NH-SiO2-Fe3O4, has been synthesized and its ability for the recovery of Au(III) in aqueous solutions was assessed. The results of the adsorption thermodynamics and kinetics showed that this magnetic adsorbent has good adsorption capacity for Au(III) and the best interpretation for the experimental data was given by the Langmuir isotherm model. The adsorption kinetics of RS-SR-NH-SiO2-Fe3O4 was well fitted with the pseudo-second-order rate equation. The thermodynamic parameters Delta G, Delta H and Delta S were also evaluated and the overall adsorption process was exothermic and spontaneous in nature. (C) 2017 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.