Modified red mud was prepared after red mud was modified by hydrochloric acid.Adsorbent of cerium-loaded red mud was prepared with modified red mud as a carrier and cerium sulfate as an active component.Under the condition of 25 ℃ and static state,the treatment of phosphate-containing wastewater with the adsorbent of cerium-loaded red mud was studied.The effects of preparation conditions of the adsorbent of cerium-loaded red mud,the adsorbent used quantity of cerium-loaded red mud,pH value of wastewater,adsorption time and phosphate concentration was discussed.The results showed that the conditions of the adsorbent of cerium-loaded red mud were as follows:hydrochloric acid concentration was 6 mol/L,reaction time of cerium-loaded red mud was 16 h,cerium sulfate four water concentration was 0.4 g/L and calcination temperature was 500 ℃;the phosphate removing efficiency was above 97% at an adsorption time of 90 min,from the wastewater with a pH value of 5.0,phosphate concentration of 0~100 mg/L in the wastewater,and the phosphate mass ratio to the adsorbent of cerium-loaded red mud of 1︰80.The adsorption isotherm curve could be well described by Langmuir equation(R2=0.991 9).The maximum adsorption capacity of phosphorus was 44.65 mg/g at 25 ℃,and the adsorption was classified to monomolecular layer type.