•Adsorption performance of natural and modified clays for organics are evaluated.•The effect of pH, Ci, surfactant loading on the adsorption capacity is appraised.•Langmuir and Freundlich are the most fitted models in the clays adsorption data.•Clay adsorption kinetics is predominantly based on the pseudo-second-order model. Adsorption process has been widely used for treatment of wastewaters due to its simplicity and lower costs as compared to other traditional technologies. Among the alternative sorbent materials, the use of abundantly available clays for adsorption of organic pollutants has garnered increasing attention worldwide. Clays, in its natural and modified forms, have been extensively employed for the removal of organic contaminants from different wastewaters. The current review appraises the sorption performance of natural and modified clays for environmental remediation applications. The adsorption capacity of phenolic compounds, aromatic compounds, pesticides and herbicides, and other organic contaminants are comprehensively reviewed. The effect of the experimental conditions (pH, initial concentration (Co), surfactant loading, etc.) on the adsorption capacity is also appraised. Furthermore, the adsorption mechanisms, structures, and adsorptive characteristics of natural and modified clay sorbents are included. A statistical analysis of the adsorption isotherms reveals that Langmuir and Freundlich are the most examined models in fitting the experimental adsorption data. In addition, the adsorption kinetics is predominantly based on the pseudo-second-order model. The current review is an attempt to draw a prior knowledge about the technical viability of clay sorption process by assessing outcomes of the studies published between 2000 and 2018.