The urea nitrogen adsorbent of complex type, which consists of chitosan coated dialdehyde cellulose （CDAC） and immobilized urease in gelatin membrane （IE）, was prepared. The cellulose, the dialdehyde cellulose （DAC） and the CDAC were characterized by scanning electronic microscope. The results indicate that the cellulose C2-C3 bond was broken under the oxidation of periodate and it was oxidated to DAC. The DAC was coated with chitosan and the CDAC was obtained. The adsorption of urea nitrogen onto the adsorbent in Na2HPO4-NaH2PO4 buffer solution was studied in batch system. The effects of the experiment parameters, including degree of oxidation of CDAC, initial urea nitrogen concentration, pH and temperature, on the adsorption capacity of urea nitrogen onto the adsorbent at CDAC/IE weight ratio 10：1 were investigated. The results indicate that these parameters affected significantly the adsorption capacity. The adsorption capacity of urea nitrogen onto the adsorbent was 36.7 mg/g at the degree of oxidation of CDAC 88%, initial urea nitrogen concentration 600 mg/L, pH 7.4 and temperature 37℃.
