The adsorption kinetics of phosphate and arsenate on goethite is studied and compared. Batch adsorption experiments were performed at different adsorbate concentrations, pH, temperatures and stirring rates. For both oxoanions the adsorption rate increases by increasing adsorbate concentration, decreasing pH and increasing temperature. It does not change by changing stirring rate. The adsorption takes place in two processes: a fast one that takes place in less than 5 min and a slow one that takes place in several hours or more. The rate of the slow process does not depend directly on the concentration of phosphate or arsenate in solution, but depends linearly on the amount of phosphate or arsenate that was adsorbed during the fast process. Apparent activation energies and absence of stirring rate effects suggest that the slow process is controlled by diffusion into pores, although the evidence is not conclusive. The similarities in the adsorption kinetics of phosphate and arsenate are quantitatively shown by using a three-parameters equation that takes into account both the fast and the slow processes. These similarities are in line with the similar reactivity that phosphate and arsenate have in general and may be important for theoretical and experimental studies of the fate of these oxoanions in the environment. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.