The review aimed to identify differences and similarities in the adsorption process of five azo dyes [congo red (CR), reactive black 5 (RB5), methyl orange (MO), orange II (OII), and methyl red (MR)] on natural materials, biosorbents, industrial and agricultural waste, or biomass, which are alternatives of costly activated carbon and are locally available. The azo dyes were characterized and compared based on their molecular structure and weight, water solubility, acid dissociation constant, n-octanol-water partition coefficient, and maximum absorbance. RB5 and CR are diazo dyes, whereas MO, OII, and MR are mono-azo dyes. MO, OII, and MR are anionic acid dyes, RB5 is an anionic reactive dye, and CR is an anionic direct dye. CR, RB5, MR, and...