In this paper, the adsorbents were prepared from cellulose-grafted with calix[4]arene polymers (CGC[4]P-1 and CGC[4]P-2) and their sorption properties studied. The polymers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, thermal gravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy. They were then used to evaluate the sorption properties of some heavy metal cations (Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, Cd2+, Hg2+ and Pb2+) and dichromate anions (Cr2O72-/HCr2O7-). Results showed that CGC[4]P-2 was a good sorbent for heavy metal cations while CGC[4]P-1 was ineffective. In the studies of dichromate anion sorption, it was observed that CGC[4]P-2 was a more highly effective sorbent at pH 1.5 than was CGC[4]P-1. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.