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The efficiency of five organic and five inorganic sorbents in removing 19 organic micropollutants (MPs), phosphorus, nitrogen, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was tested in a two-week column experiment using household wastewater spiked with pharmaceuticals (n = 6), biocides/pesticides (n = 4), organophosphates (n = 3), a fragrance, a UV-stablizer, a food additive, a rubber additive, a plasticizer and a surfactant. Two types of granular activated carbon (GAC), two types of lignite, a pine bark product, and five mineral-based sorbents were tested. All the organic sorbents except pine bark achieved better removal efficiencies of DOC (on average, 70 +/- 27%) and MPs (93 +/- 11%) than the inorganic materials (DOC: 44 +/- 7% and MPs: 66 +/- 38%). However, the organic sorbents (i.e. GAC and xyloid lignite) removed less phosphorus (46 +/- 18%), while sorbents with a high calcium or iron content (i.e. Polonite (R) and lignite) generally removed phosphorus more efficiently (93 +/- 3%). Ammonium- nitrogen was well removed by sorbents with a pH between 7 and 9, with an average removal of 87%, whereas lignite (pH 4) showed the lowest removal efficiency (50%). Some MPs were well removed by all sorbents (>= 97%) including biocides (hexachlorobenzene, triclosan and terbutryn), organophosphates (tributylphosphate, tris-(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate and triphenylphosphate) and one fragrance (galaxolide). The pesticide 2,6-dichlorobenzamide and the pharmaceutical diclofenac were poorly removed by the pine bark and inorganic sorbents (on average, 4%), while organic sorbents achieved high removal of these chemicals (87%).