The removal of cobalt from an alkaline waste solutions containing sodium was carried out using a radiotracer in a batch method using synthetic calcium hydroxyapatite (HAP). The influence of different parameters such as solution pH, contact time, cobalt concentration, and presence of other ions like sodium on cobalt removal was studied. The sorption process followed pseudo-secondorder kinetics with necessary time of around 23–25 h to reach equilibrium and the cobalt uptake was quantitatively evaluated using the Freundlich model. The results indicated that the mechanism of cobalt removal by HAP was mainly due to chemisorption on a heterogeneous surface. In the presence of sodium, the sorption of cobalt on HAP was not affected. The sorption of cobalt on HAP was pH independent in the range from 4 to 8, because of its buffering properties. The adsorption of cobalt on HAP was fast and the percentage of cobalt sorption was >97 % during the first 30–40 min of the contact time.