Solid phase method was used to synthesize α-Al2O3 using ammonium sulfate as raw material. Powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the product. The synthesized material was used as adsorbent to investigate the effects of acidity, adsorption time, initial concentration of Hg2+, adsorbent dosage and adsorption temperature on the adsorption of Hg2+. The adsorptive results showed that the optimal adsorption conditions are：for the initial Hg2+ concentration of 0.80 mg/ml, α-Al2O3 amount：Hg2+ amount (g/g) = 4.17, pH = 3.5, contact time 10 min, temperature 20℃. The maximum adsorptive amount of Hg2+ was 157.8 mg Hg2+ /g (α-Al2O3). The effects of desorption of three type desorptive agents HAc, HNO3, HCl, were probed. The results indicated that the optimal desorption agent is 0.10 mol/L HCl. When desorption was 10 min, the highest desorption rate could reach 97.92%.