Constructed wetlands (CWs) are engineered systems that utilize natural systems including wetland vegetations,soils,and their associated microbial assemblages to assist in treating wastewater.The kinetic adsorption of ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) by CW substrate materials such as blast furnace slag (BFS),zeolite,ceramsite,vermiculite,gravel,paddy soil,red soil,and turf,was investigated using batch experiments and kinetic adsorption isotherms.Both Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms could adequately predict the NH4+-N adsorption process.The maximum adsorption capacities of NH4+-N,estimated from the Langmuir isotherm,ranked as:zeolite (33 333.33 mg kg-1) ＞ turf (29274.01 mg kg-1) ＞ BFS (5 000mg kg-1) ＞ vermiculite (3333.33 mg kg-1) ＞ gravel (769.23 mg kg-1) ＞ paddy soil (588.24 mg kg-1) ＞ red soil (555.56mg kg-1) ＞ ceramsite (107.53 mg kg-1).Some properties of the substrate materials,including bulk density,specific gravity,hydraulic conductivity,uniformity coefficient (K60),curvature coefficient (Cc),organic matter,pH,exchangeable (or active) Cu,Fe,Zn and Mn,total Cu,and Fe,Mn,Zn,Cd,Pb and Ca,had negative correlations with NH4+-N adsorption.Other properties of the substrate materials like particle diameter values of D10,D30 and D60 (the diameters of particle sizes of a substrate material at which 10％,30％ and 60％,respectively,of the particles pass through the sieve based on the accumulative frequency),cation exchange capacity (CEC),exchangeable (or active) Ca and Mg,and total K and Mg had positive correlations with NH4+-N adsorption.In addition,active K and Na as well as the total Na had significant positive correlations with NH4+-N adsorption.This information would be useful for selection of suitable substrate materials for CWs.