ABSTRACT Magnetic metal ferrites attached to biowastes are proven to be promising adsorbents for the removal of dyes from water. Magnetic composites with biopolymers are gaining interest in the field of treatment of wastewater because of their selective nature, recyclability, low cost and environmental compatibility. In this work, Zinc ferrite composite with starch, extracted from mango seed kernel (ZFNMS) was synthesised. Characterisation techniques, such as FTIR, XRD, FESEM, BET, TGA and pHzpc, were used for the structural analysis of ZFNMS. ZFNMS was used to remove Methylene blue, Crystal violet and Brilliant green dyes in single and multiple (ternary) dye systems. The kinetics of adsorption by ZFNMS revealed that pseudo-second-order of kinetics was most appropriate for this study. Maximum adsorption capacities using ZFNMS for CV, BG and MB dyes were 142.9, 101.2 and 105.8 mg/g, respectively. The values of adsorption energies using ZFNMS were 200.5, 494.3 and 183.6 KJ/mol for CV, BG and MB dyes, respectively. Thermodynamic data revealed the spontaneous nature of the adsorption of dyes by ZFNMS and it was found that chemical adsorption was taking place in the present study. Regeneration of the adsorbent was done for successive five cycles and showed significant results. Thus ZFNMS is an ideal adsorbent for cationic dyes removal from water.