According to the theory of static action, sodium lignosulfonate-chitosan (SLS-CS) polyelectrolyte complex was prepared from alkaline lignin and chitosan. The structure of sodium lignosulfonate-chitoaan (SLS-CS) polyelectrolyte was characterized by Fourier transform infrared ( FT-IR) and X-ray powder diflraction( XRD). The adsorption property for copperions by sodium lignosulfonate-chitosan polyelectrolyte was also evaluated. The results indicated that NH3+ was formed by the protonated amino groups of chitosan which formed sodium lignosulfonate-chitosan ( SLS-CS) polyelectrolyte complex by reacting with -SO, Na of sodium lignosulfonate through electrostatic adsorption. Compared with the sodium lignosulfonate and chitosan, the amorphous peak of chifosan tends to decrease, the arrangement of sodium lignosulfonate-chitosan ( SLS-CS) polymer appears more ordered, intermo-lecular force is enhanced, the adsorption equilibrium time for copper ions is about 5 h, and the saturated adsorption capacity is 12.5 mg/g. The adsorption isotherm curve fits well with Freundich equation.