Waste water has been a matter of concern, both in the aesthetic sense and health point of view. Color removal from textile effluents on a continuous industrial scale has been given much attention in the last few years, not only because of its potential toxicity, but also mainly due to its visibility problem. There have been various promising techniques for the removal of dyes from wastewater. However, the effectiveness of adsorption for dye removal from wastewater has made it an ideal alternative to other expensive treatment methods. In this review, an extensive list of sorbent literature has been compiled. The review evaluates different agricultural waste materials as low-cost adsorbents for the removal of dyes from wastewater. The review also outlines some of the fundamental principles of dye adsorption on to adsorbents.