A simple-to-prepare, environmentally friendly, efficient and sustainable PO43− adsorbent was developed from iron oxide-modified coconut shell-activated carbon loaded with zirconium oxychloride (MAC@Zr). MAC@Zr was characterized using SEM, EDS, XRD, and XPS. PO43− adsorption experiments showed that the removal of PO43− (10 mg/L) by MAC@Zr was close to 100 % after 10 min at an initial pH value of 3.0 and a dosage of 4 g/L. Importantly, MAC@Zr exhibited outstanding selective adsorption for PO43− and demonstrated anti-interference ability to coexisting anions. The reutilization experiment showed that the removal of PO43− by MAC@Zr could still reach 100 % after 5 reaction cycles of repeated use, with the saturation magnetic strength slightly decreased from 0.15 (emu) to 0.14 (emu). The mechanism of MAC@Zr trapping PO43− was mainly due to electrostatic attraction and ligand exchange.