The use of microorganisms, mainly fungi, is an alternative processing method for removing heavy metals from contaminated environments. These microorganisms have the ability to resist severe environments such as the presence of heavy metals and salinity. The aim of this study is to isolate natural fungi capable of accumulating lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) from polluted Algerian beaches. Heavy metal-resistant fungal strains were screened with different concentrations of these metals for 7 days at 25 ± 2 °C. The isolate showing the highest resistance to tested metals was selected to determine its ability to simultaneously uptake lead, zinc and copper from CYA broth medium. The kinetic models were applied on the metal tolerant Penicillium citrinum. Biosorption of the heavy metals was investigated under pH ranging from 1 to 11 and at temperature ranging from 15 to 45 °C. The screening of the heavy metal-resistant fungal strains showed one resistant strain to the three heavy metals at once. It followed the Langmuir model biosorption towards initial concentrations of the three metals showing an important affinity when compared with the earliest studies. The optimal pH and temperature were determined as 5.5 - 6 and 27 - 30 °C, respectively.
