The sorption of Cd2+ by Streptomyces sp. K33 and HL-12 was investigated. The removal efficiency increased with pH, but no obvious differences with different temperatures. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) was used to characterize the interaction between Cd2+ and K33 and HL-12. Results revealed that the presence of amino, carboxyl, hydroxyl and carbonyl groups were responsible for the biosorption of Cd2+. Strain HL-12 had more changes in the functional groups than K33. Biosorption equilibrium was established earlier by strain K33 than that by HL-12, and K33 had higher adsorption ratio. Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) isotherms were used to describe the adsorption experiment, Langmuir model fitted the experiment data best. Strain K33 showed greater sorption capacities with 38.49 mg Cd2+/g dry cells. Pseudo-first-order and second-order kinetic models were used to describe the kinetic data, and second-order kinetic model fitted better. About 70% recovery of Cd2+ could be obtained at pH <= 3 from metal-loaded biomass of strains HL-12 and K33. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.