Fly ash is a waste substance from thermal power plants, steel mills, etc. that is found in abundance in the world. In recent years, utilisation of fly ash has gained much attention in public and industry, which will help reduce the environmental burden and enhance economic benefit. In this paper, the technical feasibility of utilisation of fly ash as a low-cost adsorbent for various adsorption processes for removal of pollutants in air and water systems has been reviewed. Instead of using commercial activated carbon or zeolites, a lot of researches have been conducted using fly ash for adsorption of NOx(,) SOx, organic compounds, and mercury in air, and cations, anions, dyes and other organic matters in waters. It is recognised that fly ash is a promising adsorbent for removal of various pollutants. Chemical treatment of fly ash will make conversion of fly ash into a more efficient adsorbent for gas and water cleaning. Investigations also revealed that unburned carbon component in fly ash plays an important role in adsorption capacity. Directions for future research are also discussed. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.