Potassium polytitanate nanofibres prepared by a hydrothermal method were investigated for their possible application in removing toxic metals from aqueous solution. Particular attention was paid to employing the titanate as a novel effective adsorbent for the removal of Pb(II). Batch adsorption experiments demonstrated that the adsorption was influenced by various conditions such as solution pH, adsorbent dosage and initial Pb(II) concentration. The results showed that the adsorption rate was faster in the first 5 min and equilibrium was achieved after 180 min. The maximum amount of adsorption was detected at pH 5. Potassium titanate showed much higher adsorption capacity compared to P25. The kinetic studies indicated that the adsorption of Pb(II) onto titanate best fit the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. FTIR spectra revealed that the hydroxyl groups in titanate were responsible for Pb(II) adsorption. The principal mechanism of the adsorption of Pb(II) in the present study is attributed to both ion exchange and oxygen bonding. The adsorption-desorption results demonstrated that the titanate could be readily regenerated after adsorption. Therefore, the present titanate exhibits great potential for the removal of Pb(II) from wastewater.