<p>Emerging contaminants (ECs) threaten water quality and human health in aquatic ecosystems. These pollutants, ranging from pharmaceuticals to industrial waste, emanate from various sources, including home sewage, and are discharged into water bodies. Due to their unique chemical properties, conventional water treatment procedures fail to remove ECs successfully. Consequently, novel approaches addressing the issue are of utmost need, and numerous non conventional adsorption techniques such as carbon nanotubes and metal–organic frameworks have shown promising capacity to eliminate ECs from wastewater. Additionally, the use of low-cost adsorbents derived from agricultural and domestic waste offers a sustainable and economically viable alternative for wastewater treatment. This review comprehensively examines the potential of low-cost adsorbents such as neem timber, palm leaves, green coconut husk, and acai fruit, better suited in EC removal. It also assesses the performance of low-cost adsorbents using criteria such as adsorption isotherms and adsorption kinetics. Furthermore, it sheds light on the problems and future possibilities of using these approaches for EC removal, highlighting the necessity of long-term solutions and ongoing research efforts in protecting water quality and environmental health.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>