In practical application, the adsorption capacity, adsorption kinetics, recycling and production cost of adsorbent affect the application of adsorbent. In this study, porous lignosulfonate/chitosan adsorbent was prepared by simple radical polymerization of acrylic acid in the mixed solution of lignosulfonate and chitosan. The porous and large surface area of adsorbent provides more adsorption sites for heavy metal ions. A variety of characterization methods were used to characterize the appearance and structure of the adsorbent. Adsorbent can effectively adsorb heavy metal ions in aqueous solution, and has the best removal effect for Cu2+ and Co2+. The adsorption capacity of adsorbent for Co2+ is 386 mg g−1, and for Cu2+ is 283 mg g−1. 0.01 g adsorbent was used to adsorb 100 mg L−1 Cu2+, and the adsorption equilibrium was reached within 60 min. When the amount of adsorbent reaches 0.03 g, the removal rate of heavy metal ions of 100 mg L−1 can reach 99%. In this study, an adsorbent based on acrylic resin was developed.