SummaryA comparison has been made of the sorption of inorganic orthophosphate and inositol hexaphosphate by six acidic surface soils from arable land in north‐east Scotland. The sorption of inorganic P increased with increasing quantities added and tended towards a maximum, but was never complete. In contrast, the organic P was completely sorbed up to an added quantity which varied with the soil, and above this level the absolute sorption decreased, probably due to the formation of soluble complexes involving iron and aluminium. The sorption sites were apparently the same for the two P forms and, particularly at high levels of addition, the organic P depressed the sorption of inorganic P. Inorganic P did not depress the sorption‐of organic P, which was preferentially adsorbed. The results help to explain the extreme stability of inositol hexaphosphate in these so