Humic substances have attracted great interest in the investigation of metal ion behavior in the environment because of their special properties. Sorption and complexation of Pb2+ on MX-80 bentonite, LA bentonite, alumina and silica as a function of pH were studied in the presence and absence of fulvic acid (FA). The experiments were carried out in 0.01M and 0.001M NaNO3 solutions under ambient conditions. The results indicate that sorption of Pb2+ on the solid samples is strongly dependent on pH and FA. The sorption of Pb2+ is not influenced drastically by ionic strength. The nature of minerals/oxides, nature of humic substances and the composition of the solution are important factors in the behavior of metal ions in the environment. The results also indicate that FA has a positive effect on Pb2+ sorption at low and a negative effect at high pH values, and the results are discussed in the comparative complexation between FA-Pb2+ and Pb2+-minerals.