Purpose: The present study was designed to investigate the uptake of Polonium-210 (210Po) by aquatic plants growing in a fresh water ecosystem around the tailings management facility of the uranium industry of Jaduguda, India. Evaluation of the activity concentration of 210Po in aquatic plants, the concentration ratio of 210Po from substrate to plants and the relationship of 210Po with other stable elements were major objectives of the investigation.Materials and methods: Based on the habitat, three types of plant were collected and analyzed for 210Po activity estimation. Along with aquatic plants, effluent, surface water and bottom sediment were also collected and analyzed for 210Po activity content. From the acid solution 210Po was electrodeposited on brightly polished silver discs and counted for alpha activity in an alpha counter.Results: The highest 210Po activity concentration (4884 Bq kg−1 fresh weight) was found in filamentous algae from residual water of the tailings pond. For sediment-rooted plants, a significant positive correlation (r = 0.91, p < 0.0001) was observed between plant and sediment activity concentration of 210Po.Conclusions: For all of the three different groups of plants studied, highly significant correlations were observed between activity concentration of 210Po and Cu with the significance level variation between 0.00–0.05 (both for linear and log transformed data).