The purpose of this study was to investigate the adsorption potential of aluminium amendedrnactivated bamboo charcoal (AAABC) for defluoridation of drinking water using batch adsorptionrnexperiments. The preparation of activated bamboo charcoal (ABC) was optimized using differentrnactivation chemicals (H3PO4 and AlCl3/FeCl3) and at different calcination temperature (400-600rnoC). The preparation of the adsorbent (AAABC) was then carried out by varying the ratio ofrnaluminium hydro(oxide) (AO) to activated bamboo charcoal (1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, 2:1 and 4:1). Xrayrndiffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and scanning electronrnmicroscopy (SEM) images were used to characterize the solid adsorbent. The specific surfacernarea (SSA) was determined by nitrogen adsorption method at -196.2 oC. The point of zero chargern(PZC) was measured by potentiometric mass titrations technique. The concentrations of totalrnacidic and basic groups on AAABC surface were determined from NaOH (0.05 M) and HClrn(0.05 M) uptake respectively by acid-base titration. The effect of adsorption parameters such asrnadsorbent dose, contact time, initial fluoride concentration, solution pH and the presence ofrninterfering co-existing anions on adsorption of fluoride onto AAABC were investigated. Thernadsorption isotherms and kinetics models were used to determine adsorption parameters. Thernperformance of AAABC was also evaluated in terms of potential for regeneration using differentrneluent (NaOH) concentrations (0.1, 1 and 5 %) at different time interval (30 and 60 min).rnThe results obtained from the optimization experiment showed that the adsorbent (AAABC) inrnwhich the ABC was impregnated in AlCl3/FeCl3 solution and treated at 400 oC showed higherrnfluoride uptake capacity. The 1:1 ratio of AO to ABC has also showed higher fluoride uptakerncapacity after 48 hrs. agitation time. The characterization results showed that inorganic particlesrnwere dispersed on the surface of carbon as shown by SEM images and EDS spectra. The mainrnelements found by EDS were carbon, oxygen, aluminium, iron, sodium, and sulfur. Fluoride wasrnassociated with the AO particles in the pore spaces of ABC after adsorption. Most peaks fromrnXRD diffractogram correspond to Ca3Al2O6. The SSA was reduced from 80.5 to 3.7 m2/g, whenrnthe ABC was impregnated with AO, indicating that the AO particles might cover the surface orrnpore spaces found in ABC. The PZC of AAABC was found to be 9.6 and the surface acidic andrnbasic groups were found to be 0.75 and 0.125 mmol/g respectively. The rate of adsorption wasrnfairly rapid and maximum fluoride uptake (around 90 %) was attained within 3 hrs. contact timernivrnwith optimum adsorbent dose of 0.8 g/L and an initial fluoride concentration of 10 mg/L.rnMaximum adsorption occurred at a pH range from 5-9 at an initial fluoride concentration of 10rnmg/L. It was also observed that the presence of certain co-existing anions (sulfate and chloride)rnhave negligible effect on removal of fluoride, while bicarbonate anion showed significant effect.rnThe adsorption data were well fitted to the Langmuir isotherm model with a maximumrnadsorption capacity of 21.1 mg/g. The kinetic studies showed that the adsorption of fluoride byrnAAABC obeys a pseudo-second-order rate equation with an average rate constant of 9.4 x 10-2rng/min.mg. The adsorbed fluoride could be easily desorbed (85.71 %) by treating the exhaustedrnadsorbent with 0.1 % NaOH.rnDue to its high adsorption capacity compared to commercially available aluminium hydroxidebasedrnadsorbents for fluoride removal, AAABC is a highly promising material for defluoridationrnof drinking water.rnKey words: Fluoride, bamboo waste, activated charcoal, adsorption, aluminium hydro(oxide).