Native banana pith (NBP) was modified by using nitrilotriacetic acid to increase its efficiency and adsorption capacity for methylene blue (MB) dye. The effect of various parameters such as pH, contact time and initial dye concentration, sorption isotherm and adsorbent dosage were studied. The maximum adsorption capacity of the NBP and NTA-BP is 100 and 142.86 mg/g, respectively. The IR spectrum of NBP and NTA-BP showed the presence of both carboxyl and hydroxyl groups. From the SEM micrographs, the surface morphology of NTA-BP before adsorption appeared to be smoother as compared to that after adsorption process. The pH(pzc) of NBP is 5.6 whereas for NTA-BP is 7.6. The experimental data fitted well into Langmuir isotherm with R(2) of 0.992. Plackett-Burman design was applied to identify the significant factors in affecting the uptake whereas the interaction between the factors and their optimum levels for the maximum percentage uptake of MB were determined using response surface methodology (RSM). Based on the results, the optimum condition for adsorption of MB was by using 0.06 g of NTA-BP in dye solution at pH 6 with 120 minutes contact time. The maximum adsorption of MB by NTA-BP achieved 99.42% under the optimum condition.