ABSTRACT In this research, a carbon adsorbent modified with curcumin ligand was utilised in the solid-phase extraction procedure. This method was coupled with flame atomic absorption spectrometry to pre-concentrate and separate trace amounts of copper ions in aqueous solutions. Different experimental parameters, including pH, eluent type and concentration, adsorbent dose, extraction time and sample volume, were studied and optimised. The obtained optimum conditions for the proposed method were: pH of solution, 4.8; extraction time, 9 min; adsorbent dose, 0.01 g; type and concentration of eluent, 1:1 mixture of HCl and HNO3 0.5 mol L−1. Under optimal conditions, the pre-concentration factor of 400.0 and linear range values of the method were 0.031–1.875 µg/L and 12.5–750 µg/L for copper ions in the initial and final solutions, respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) for seven replicate detections of 0.05 µg L−1 of copper ion in initial solution was calculated as 2.2%. Furthermore, the detection limit of 0.008 µg L−1 was determined for the suggested method. In order to investigate the selectivity of modified carbon adsorbent, the influence of some interfering ions on the extraction and recovery of Cu (II) was studied. Finally, the present method was employed for the determination of copper ions in real water samples and standard alloys.