Polyacrylonitrile beads (PAN) cysteine (CS) was synthesized from polyacrylonitrile beads (PAN) and cysteine (CS). The content of the functional group and the percentage conversion of the functional group of PAN-CS prepared under the optimum condition using response surface methodology (RSM) for the first attempt were 3.22 mmol/g and 35.78%. The structure was characterized by FT-IR and elemental analysis. The adsorption properties of the resin for Cu(II) were investigated by batch and column experiments. Batch adsorption results suggested that PAN-CS had higher adsorption capability for Cu(II) than other metal ions and maximum saturated adsorption capacity was 184.7 mg/g. The resin and its metal complexes were studied by FT-IR. Furthermore, the resin can be eluted easily using 1 mol/L HCl. PAN-CS can provide a potential application for selective removal of copper from waste solution.