Apatite (AP) was prepared by solid-phase reaction and sol-gel process. TEM, XRD, IR and BET measurements as well as static-dynamic absorption tests were applied to analyze the influences of specific surface area, crystallinity, lattice defect, crystal lattice parameters, crystalline size, Ca to P molar ratio (R) and calcination temperature (Tc) on the adsorption of F- ions. According to the data obtained, the AP with relatively high crystallinity and large crystalline size has poor adsorption capacity for F- ions and assumes a single molecule layer chemical complexing adsorption mechanism; the acidified AP has good adsorption capacity and responds to a compound mechanism of dissolving-precipitating and nanosurface adsorption; the nanoscale HAP, under the operating conditions of no acidification, room temperature and pressure, non-secondary pollution and comparatively low concentration of F- ions, has excellent adsorption capacity and shows a nanoadsorption mechanism.