Decolourisation of a dilute solution of a basic dyestuff was carried out by using hardwood sawdust as adsorbent. At 80°C 85% decolourisation occurred within 100 min at an initial concentration (C_o) of 200 mg dm⁻³. There was a 44% reduction in contact time when the temperature was raised from 25 to 80°C. The rate parameter for different initial dye concentrations was found to follow the equation: k_co=4.20C_o^0.88 and the rate parameter for different mean diameter d_m followed the equation k_dm=4.1 (l/d_m)^0.135. The activation energy of the process was 9.83 kJ mol⁻¹ which shows that the rate controlling step is intraparticle diffusion.