Abstract Adsorption of germanium on goethite was studied at 25 °C in batch reactors as a function of pH (1–12), germanium concentration in solution (10−7 to 0.002 M) and solid/solution ratio (1.8–17 g/L). The maximal surface site density determined via Ge adsorption experiments at pH from 6 to 10 is equal to 2.5 ± 0.1 μmol/m2. The percentage of adsorbed Ge increases with pH at pH > FeO – Ge ( OH ) 3 0 and > FeO – GeO ( OH ) 2 − , at the goethite-solution interface. Coprecipitation of Ge with iron oxy(hydr)oxides formed during Fe(II) oxidation by atmospheric oxygen or by Fe(III) hydrolysis in neutral solutions led to high Ge incorporations in solid with maximal Ge/Fe molar ratio close to 0.5. The molar Ge/Fe ratio in precipitated solid is proportional to that in the initial solution according to the equation (Ge/Fe)solid = k × (Ge/Fe)solution with 0.7 ⩽ k ⩽ 1.0. The structure of adsorbed and coprecipitated Ge complexes was further characterized using XAFS spectroscopy. In agreement with previous data on oxyanions adsorption on goethite, bi-dentate bi-nuclear surface complexes composed of tetrahedrally coordinated Ge attached to the corners of two adjacent Fe octahedra represent the dominant contribution to the EXAFS signal. Coprecipitated samples with Ge/Fe molar ratios >0.1, and samples not aged in solution (