This work describes the preparation of new chelating materials derived from cellulose and sugarcane bagasse for adsorption of Cu2+, Cd2+, and Pb2+ ions from aqueous solutions. The first part involved the mercerization treatment of cellulose and sugarcane bagasse with NaOH 5 mol/L. Non- and mercerized cellulose and sugarcane bagasse were then reacted with ethylenediaminetetraacetic dianhydride (EDTAD) in order to prepare different chelating materials. These materials were characterized by mass percent gain, X-ray diffraction, FTIR, and elemental analysis. The second part consisted of evaluating the adsorption capacity of these modified materials for Cu2+, Cd2+, and Pb2+ ions from aqueous single metal solutions, whose concentration was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. These materials showed maximum adsorption capacities for Cu2+, Cd2+, and Pb2+ ions ranging from 38.8 to 92.6 mg/g, 87.7 to 149.0 mg/g, and 192.0 to 333.0 mg/g, respectively. The modified mercerized materials showed larger maximum adsorption capacities than modified non-mercerized materials.