705 Copyright © 2017, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Chapter 28 DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-1798-6.ch028 ABSTRACT Water pollution by anthropogenic activities is proving to be of critical concern as the heavy metals afect aquatic organisms and can quickly disperse to large distances. This poses a risk to both human health and the aquatic biota. Hence, there is a need to treat the wastewater containing toxic metals before they are discharged into the water bodies. During recent years, magnetic nanoparticles came to the fore- ground of scientifc interest as a potential adsorbent of novel wastewater treatment processes. Magnetic nanoparticles have received much attention due to their unique properties, such as extremely small size, high surface-area-to-volume ratio, surface modifability, multi functionality, excellent magnetic proper- ties, low-cost synthesis, and great biocompatibility. The multi-functional magnetic nanoparticles have been successfully applied for the reduction of toxic metal ions up to ppb level in waste-treated water. This chapter highlights the potential application of magnetic nanoparticles for the removal of heavy metals. INTRODUCTION Industrialization and urbanization coupled with rapid population growth has lead to an increased disposal of heavy metals into the aquatic environment. Contamination of heavy metals in the surroundings has done great harm to human and other organism due to their high toxicity and carcinogenicity (Gautam, 2012; Gautam et al., 2013; Gautam & Chattopadhyaya, 2013; Lin et al., 2012; Smith, 2009; Srivastava Functionalized Magnetic Nanoparticles for Environmental Remediation Ravindra Kumar Gautam University of Allahabad, India Shivani Soni Alabama State University, USA Mahesh Chandra Chattopadhyaya University of Allahabad, India