High concentration heavy metals in the environment can cause serious problem on human health. Cobalt is a heavy metal that has a large application in different fields. In the present work, we aimed to investigate the adsorption of the cobalt ions from aqueous solutions on molecular sieves and zeolite AW-300. Molecular sieves and zeolites were activated at 873 K for two hours before the adsorption experiment. UV-Visible spectrometer was used to measure concentrations of cobalt ions. All adsorption experiments were performed according to statistical designs for response surface methodological approach. A response surface analysis was guided to advance understand the interactions between adsorbent dose and initial concentration of cobalt ions. The removal efficiencies of cobalt ions on sorbents were characterized. The results indicated that molecular sieves and zeolite AW-300 can be used to remove cobalt ions from aqueous solutions.