The adsorption capacity and elution rate of H+-form and Na+-form as well as NH4+-form Amberlite IRC-50 (IRC-50) resins for ?-poly-L-lysine (?-PL) at different pH values and eluant concentrations were evaluated by static adsorption experiment. Meanwhile, the dynamic adsorption and elution processes of three forms of IRC-50 resins were also studied. The results revealed that the optimum pH value of three forms of IRC-50 resins for ?-PL adsorption was 8.0, the saturated adsorption capacity were 238.7, 293.3 and 298.1 mg/g, respectively. In addition, the optimum concentration of the eluent for three forms of IRC-50 resin was 0.1 mol/L, and the elution rate reached more than 96%. The results of dynamic adsorption and elution experiments indicated that the purity of ε-PL obtained by Na+-form and NH4+-form resins were 12% higher than that of H+-form resin. Moreover, the kinetic adsorption rate constants for Na+-form and NH4+-form resins are nearly 2 times more than that of H+-form resin. Therefore, Na+-form and NH4+-form resins are more suitable for the separation and extraction of ?-PL than H+-form resin.