About 80% of wastewater is discarded into the environment without any treatment. In this research work, the metal hydroxyapatite nanoparticles had been synthesized by a wet chemical approach and applied in water treatment applications by using them as adsorbents for the removal of Red 3R dye from an aqueous solution. The obtained products had been characterized by FTIR spectroscopic technique to confirm the synthesis of respective products by ensuring the presence of phosphate and hydroxyl functional groups. Batch experiments were performed and all effective parameters were optimized and their optimized values were 21 mg/g achieved at pH 7.0, adsorbent dose 0.05 g, initial dye concentration 75 mg/L, and contact time 75 min using metal hydroxyapatite nanoparticles. Moreover, the effect of surfactants and electrolytes was also studied. The Red 3R dye adsorption process was explained by the Langmuir isotherm this type of behavior showed the formation of a monolayer of dye molecules on the adsorbent surface and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The thermodynamic parameters indicated that Red 3R dye adsorption was exothermic and spontaneous. Given the promising adsorption efficiency of metal hydroxyapatite nanoparticles, they might be used as an alternative class of adsorbents for the adsorption of dyes from industrial effluents. Graphical Abstract