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Wastewater containing highly toxic and non-biodegradable heavy metals and organic dyes poses a serious threat to ecological environment and human health. Adsorption has been regarded as a promising technology to purify this kind of wastewater. Therefore, it is of great importance to develop efficient adsorbents. Herein, a magnetically recyclable adsorbent Fe 3 O 4 -CS/PDAC was facilely fabricated by coating poly(acryloyloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium chloride)-modified chitosan on the surface of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles. The morphology, physical-chemical and magnetic properties of as-prepared Fe 3 O 4 -CS/PDAC was fully characterized by various techniques. Its adsorption behaviors towards heavy metal Cr(VI) and organic dye sunset yellow (SY) were systematically investigated. Evidently, Fe 3 O 4 -CS/PDAC exhibited adsorption capacities of 163.93 and 769.23 mg/g for Cr(VI) and SY respectively, much higher than other reported adsorbents. Besides, batch experiment results showed that adsorption capacities decreased slightly with pH increasing from 2.0 to 10.0. Furthermore, Fe 3 O 4 -CS/PDAC could be easily separated and effectively regenerated after adsorption. The superior adsorption performance of Fe 3 O 4 -CS/PDAC could be attributed to the electrostatic interaction and ion exchange between target pollutants and the grafted cationic polymer. Owing to its high adsorption capacity over a wide pH range, rapid separation, easy regeneration and good reusability, Fe 3 O 4 -CS/PDAC has great potential for practical application in water treatment. Unlabelled Image • Novel cationic polymer modified magnetic chitosan beads (Fe 3 O 4 -CS/PDAC) were synthesized. • Fe 3 O 4 -CS/PDAC exhibits a high adsorption capacity towards Cr(VI) and sunset yellow over a wide pH range (2.0-10.0). • Superior adsorption performance is attributed to high density of quaternary ammonium groups on the grafted polymer chains. • Electrostatic interaction and ion exchange are involved in the adsorption process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]