Ciprofloxacin is a commonly used antibiotic and widely detected in wastewaters and farmlands nowadays. This study evaluated the efficacy of next-generation adsorbent (graphene) and conventional adsorbent (granular activated carbon, GAC) for ciprofloxacin removal. Batch experiments and characterization tests were conducted to investigate the adsorption kinetics, equilibrium isotherms, thermodynamic properties, and the influences of solution chemistry (pH, ionic strength, natural organic matter, and water sources). Compared to GAC, graphene showed significantly faster adsorption and reached equilibrium within 3 min, showing the rapid access of ciprofloxacin into the macroporous network of high surface area of graphene as revealed by the BET analysis. The kinetics was better described by pseudo-second-order model, suggesting the importance of the initial ciprofloxacin concentration related to surface site availability of graphene. The adsorption isotherm on graphene followed Langmuir model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 323 mg/g, which was higher than other reported carbonaceous adsorbents. The ciprofloxacin adsorption was thermodynamically favorable on graphene and primarily occurred through π-π interaction, according to the FTIR spectroscopy. While the adsorption capacity of graphene decreased with increasing solution pH due to the speciation change of ciprofloxacin, the adverse effects of ionic strength (0.01-0.5 mol L(-1)), presence of natural organic matter (5 mg L(-1)), and different water sources (river water or drinking water) were less significant on graphene than GAC. These results indicated that graphene can serve as alternative adsorbent for ciprofloxacin removal in commonly encountered field conditions, if proper separation and recovery is available in place. Supplemental Data.