Water stable Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 composites were successfully fabricated by a facile modification. The composites were characterized by powder XRD, SEM, TEM and BET surface areas measurement. The results showed that as-obtained Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 composites possess core-shell structures (Fe₃O₄ as core and ZIF-8 as shell) with a high surface area (1133 m² g^-1). The composites were also evaluated for adsorption of As(III) from solution. Langmuir model could be suitable to express the adsorption isotherm, indicating that the uptake of As(III) on Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 is monolayer adsorption with maximum capacity being 100 m² g^-1. Thermodynamics data revealed that the adsorption followed a spontaneous, endothermic and entropy increase process. Batch adsorption experiments demonstrated that the adsorption kinetics fit pseudo-second-order better with correlation coefficient R² of 0.9881. The effects of anions such as chloride, nitrate, carbonate, phosphate and sulfate on the removal of As(III) were also examined. The results indicated that ordinary anions would not hinder adsorption of As(III) except that the carbonate and phosphate anions could compete with As(III) for adsorptive sites on the adsorbent. This research showed Fe₃O₄@ZIF-8 is a promising composite in practical application as it can be easily separated by magnetism after used in the water treatment with efficient removal of As(III) from aqueous solution.