In this study, we prepared chitosan beads cross-linked with epichlorohydrin (CB-ECH) to improve the removal of nitrate in groundwater. It was confirmed that CB-ECH exhibited higher thermal stability and well-developed nano-pores compared to the pure chitosan beads (CB) by the thermogravimetric analyzer, nitrogen gas adsorption and desorption isotherm, and field emission scanning microscopy analysis. The CB-ECH showed a higher nitrate adsorption amount than the pure CB. Nitrate adsorption behaviors of CB-ECH were further investigated using adsorption isotherm, adsorption kinetics, adsorption energy distribution, and Gibbs free energy distribution models. The adsorption equilibrium and kinetics of nitrate ion on CB-ECH were well explained by the Sips isotherm and homogeneous surface diffusion model, respectively. It was also found from the AED analysis that the CB-ECH represent the heterogeneous adsorption behaviors for nitrate.