Herein, a new adsorbent was prepared by modifying Mg-Fe LDH for the removal of Cu metal ions from wastewater. Mg-Fe LDH with 5-(3-nitrophenyllazo)-6-aminouracil ligand has been successfully prepared using direct co-precipitation methods and was fully characterized using FTIR analysis, X-ray diffraction, BET surface area theory, zeta potential, partial size, TGA/DTA, CHN, EDX, FESEM, and HRTEM. The surface areas of Mg-Fe LDH and Mg-Fe LDH/ligand were 73.9 m/g and 34.7 m/g respectively. Moreover, Cu adsorption on LDH surfaces was intensively examined by adjusting different parameters like time, adsorbent dosage, pH, and Cu metal ion concentration. Several isotherm and kinetic models were investigated to understand the mechanism of adsorption towards Cu metal ions. Adsorption capacity values of LDH and ligand-LDH rounded about 165 and 425 mg/g respectively, applying nonlinear fitting of Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm equations showing that the ligand-LDH can be considered a potential material to produce efficient adsorbent for removal of heavy metal from polluted water. The adsorption of Cu metal ions followed a mixed 1,2-order mechanism. The isoelectric point (PZC) of the prepared sample was investigated and discussed. The effect of coexisting cations on the removal efficiency of Cu ions shows a minor decrease in the adsorption efficiency. Recyclability and chemical stability of these adsorbents show that using Mg-Fe LDH/ligand has an efficiency removal for Cu ions higher than Mg-Fe LDH through seven adsorption/desorption cycles. Moreover, the recycling of the Cu ions was tested using cyclic voltammetry technique from a neutral medium, and the Cu ion recovery was 68%.