The layered laurylsulfonate intercalated green rust (lauryl-S GR) was synthesized to evaluate the influence of synthesis parameters and aqueous conditions on the adsorption of CeIV. The maximum adsorption capacity of 305.58 mg/g by lauryl-S GR was predictably obtained. The pseudo-first-order kinetic model was appropriate infitting the whole uptake process in a weak acid environment. Three isotherm models including Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temp-kin were all reliable in depicting the isotherm adsorption process. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of lauryl-S GR towards CeIV was 315.46 mg/g. Ce species including CeO and Ce2O3 besides CeO2 were matched in the XPS distribution, directly indicating the reduc-tion reaction brought by FeⅡ in the GR occurred to hydrated CeIV ions during the adsorption. Nano-sized Ce particles attached to the lauryl-S GRs after the adsorption experiments were observed in the morphological characterization. Flocculated materials were formed on the surface of the lauryl-S GR at a pH of 7, which further reduced the active sites and disrupted the continuous uptake of CeIV to the lauryl-S GR. This study expands the application of GRs and supplies an ideal iron-based material for the construction of the affiliated recovery pathway to the traditional separation of Ce.