Abstract: Activated carbon (AC) was modified with sodium citrate at a concentration of 5-15% by impregnation to develop a new type of adsorbent, named (Nx-AC where x is the concentration. Their pore structures and surface chemical properties were characterized by N2 adsorption, Boehm titration and FT-IR. The adsorption of copper ions by the (Nx-AC and the regenerated ones were investigated through a static adsorption method. Results showed that the carboxyl content had a great influence in the adsorption properties of (Nx-AC for copper with the adsorption capacity of N15-AC being 1.76 times higher than the parent AC, which was higher than those of the N5-AC. and the (N10-AC. The adsorption capacity of the regenerated N15-AC s for copper can reach 98.2 and 95.9% of the original N15-AC for the first and second regenerations respectively.