A new composite type of magnetic nanoparticles for the selective separation of uranyl from aqueous solution was prepared by coating phosphorylated polyvinyl alcohol on the surface of Fe304 nanoparticles. The adsorption property and selective recognition ability of the nanoparticles were studied by equilibrium-adsorption method. The influence of experimental conditions to the adsorption property was also investigated. The results showed that in the presence of competitor metal ions, the nanoparticles had high adsorption and selectiv...