The adsorption of thiocyanate onto ZnCl2 activated carbon developed from coir pith was investigated to assess the possible use of this adsorbent. The influence of various parameters such as agitation time, thiocyanate concentration, adsorbent dose, pH and temperature has been studied. Adsorption followed second-order rate kinetics. Two theoretical adsorption isotherms, namely, Langmuir and Freundlich were used to describe the experimental results. The Langmuir adsorption capacity (Q0) was found to be 16.2 mg g(-1) of the adsorbent. The per cent adsorption was maximum in the pH range 3.0-7.0. pH effect and desorption studies showed that ion exchange and chemisorption mechanism are involved in the adsorption process. Thermodynamic parameters such as DeltaG0, DeltaH0 and DeltaS0 for the adsorption were evaluated. The negative values of DeltaH0 confirm the exothermic nature of adsorption. Effects of foreign ions on the adsorption of thiocyanate have been investigated. Removal of thiocyanate from ground water was also tested.