In this paper,the surface sites of quartz and their protonation were first analyzed and discussed,and then the surface reaction of heavy metal ions,involving Cu 2+ ,Pb 2+ ,Cd 2+ and Ni 2+ ,with quartz were completely investigated.The pH PPZC (pristine point of zero charge) for quartz was about 2.8 and the surface protonation constants in log form,lg K int 1 and lg K int 2,were about -1.5,7.0,respectively.The adsorption mass of Cu 2+ decreased with the ionic strength changing from 0.1 to 1.0mol/L;while the adsorption mass of heavy metal ions,including Cu 2+ ,Pb 2+ ,Cd 2+ and Ni 2+ ,decreased with raise in temperature.The experimental results showed that the surface reaction of heavy metal ions with quartz was surface complexation adsorption in model and the supporting electrolyte ions had taken part in competing adsorption under the experimental conditions.