The adsorption of cerium (III) from aqueous solution has been investigated on various biosorbents of plant and animal origin. The biosorbents of animal origin viz. crab shell (C{\textless}inf{\textgreater}R{\textless}/inf{\textgreater}S), prawn carapace (PC), fish scales (FS), egg shell (ES) and plant origin viz. neem sawdust (NS), corn style(CS), pineapple crown (P{\textless}inf{\textgreater}A{\textless}/inf{\textgreater}C), orange peel (OP) were used for the study. The influence of various factors viz. pH, contact time, biomass dosage and initial metal concentration on cerium sorption were investigated under batch mode. Maximum removal of cerium was noted by the sorbents of animal origin (PC) and plant origin (CS) respectively. The cerium adsorption capacities of PC, ES, C{\textless}inf{\textgreater}R{\textless}/inf{\textgreater}S, FS were found to be 1000.0, 166.6, 90.9, 200.0 mg/g whereas 250.0, 142.8, 71.4 and 200.0 mg/g were noted for CS, P{\textless}inf{\textgreater}A{\textless}/inf{\textgreater}C, OP, NS respectively. Langmuir and Freundlich models were applied to characterize the adsorption process. The adsorption data for prawn carapace (PC) fitted well with the Freundlich isotherm model whereas Langmuir model exhibited best fit in case of corn style (CS).