Heavy metal pollution is one of the most important environmental problems today. Biosorption is an innovative technology that employs biological materials to accumulate heavy metals from waste water through metabolic process or physicochemical pathways of uptake. Even though several physical and chemical methods are available for removal of heavy metals, currently many biological materials such as bacteria, algae, yeasts and fungi have been widely used due to their good performance, low cost and large quantity of availability. The aim of the present study is to explore the biosorption of toxic heavy metals, Cr(VI), Cr(III), Pb(II) and Cd(II) by algal biomass obtained from algae Sargassum wightii (brown) and Caulerpa racemosa (green). Biosorption of algal biomass was found to be biomass concentration- and pH-dependent, while the maximal biosorption was found at pH 5. 0 and with the metal concentration of 100 mg L -1. S. wightii showed the maximal metal biosorption at the biomass concentration of 25 g L -1, followed by C. racemosa with the maximal biosorption at 30 g L -1. S. wightii showed 78% biosorption of Cr(VI), Cr(III), Pb(II) and Cd(II) ions. C. racemosa exhibited 85% biosorption of Cd(II) and Cr(VI), and 50% biosorption of Cr(III) and Pb(II). The results of our study suggest that seaweed biomass can be used efficiently for biosorption of heavy metals. © 2012 Science Press, Ocean University of China and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.