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This study reports the adsorption capacity of lead Pb²⁺ and cadmium Cd²⁺ of biochar obtained from: peanut shell (BCM), “chonta” pulp (BCH) and corn cob (BZM) calcined at 500, 600 and 700 °C, respectively. The optimal adsorbent dose, pH, maximum adsorption capacity and adsorption kinetics were evaluated. The biochar with the highest Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ removal capacity is obtained from the peanut shell (BCM) calcined at 565 °C in 45 min. The optimal experimental conditions were: 14 g L⁻¹ (dose of sorbent) and pH between 5 and 7. The sorption experimental data were best fitted to the Freundlich isotherm model. High removal rates were obtained: 95.96% for Pb²⁺ and 99.05. for Cd²⁺. The BCH and BZM revealed lower efficiency of Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ removal than BCM biochar. The results suggest that biochar may be useful for the removal of heavy metals (Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺) from drinking water.