Magnetic nanoparticles and a method for producing the same are disclosed. A carboxylated polysaccharide with various functions such as chelating and ion exchange is covalently bound on the surfaces of magnetic nanoparticles. The polysaccharide-bound magnetic nanoparticles are highly stable, well dispersed, and have many advantages of high adsorption capacity, fast adsorption rate and easy magnetically manipulation. Hence, the polysaccharide-bound magnetic nanoparticles are applied to adsorb many ionic substances, and further act as an adsorbent for wastewater treatment or biochemical separation, a carrier for drugs or gene site-directed delivery, and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent.