This work was to examine the feasibility and efficiency to use bentonite for simultaneous removal of cationic dyes and hydrophobic organic carbons (HOCs) from water. The sorption capacities of crystal violet (CV) on two bentonites and one activated carbon were compared. Simultaneous sorption of CV and 2-naphthol on the two bentonites were tested, and the removal efficiencies of 2-naphthol by the simultaneous sorption method and by CV modified bentonite was also compared. The experimental results in this study showed that the bentonite is more effective in sorption of CV than the activated carbon. With the sorption of CV, bentonite surfaces were altered from hydrophilicity to hydrophobicity, and thus 2-naphthol could be simultaneously removed. The aromatic effect between CV and 2-naphthol was supposed to be the primary driving force for the sorption of 2-naphthol. The simultaneous sorption method was shown to be more effective in the sorption of 2-naphthol than the CV modified bentonite. Results of this work could provide novel information for the treatment of wastewater containing both cationic dyes and HOCs. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.