The nonviable biomass of Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus japonica, Rhizopus nigricans, Rhizopus arrhizus, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were screened for biosorption of textile dyes. The selected anionic reactive dyes were C.I. Reactive Black 8, C.I. Reactive Brown 9, C.I. Reactive Green 19, C.I. Reactive Blue 38, and C.I. Reactive Blue 3. Experiments were conducted at initial dye concentration of 50, 100, 150 and 200 mg/L. The effect of initial dye concentration, dose of biosorbent loading, temperature, and pH on adsorption kinetics was studied. S. cerevisiae and R. nigricans were good biosorbents at initial dye concentration of 50 mg/L, 1 g% (w/v) biomass loading and 29 +/- 1 degrees C. R. nigricans adsorbed 90-96% dye in 15 min, at 20 degrees C and pH 6.0. The data showed an optimal fit to the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The maximum uptake capacity (Q(0)) for the selected dyes was in the range 112-204 mg/g biomass. 0 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.