A smectite-based inorganic-organic hybrid material was prepared by a one-step intercalation of cetyltrimethylammonium ions and thiourea within the interlayer space of montmorillonite (MT). The surface and textural properties of the resulting material were examined using several techniques (X-ray diffraction, elementary analysis and N-2 adsorption-desorption experiments (BET method)) that demonstrated the presence of both modifiers in the clay mineral structure. The presence of thiourea molecules in the modified MT greatly improved its ability towards the fixation of Pb2+ and Cd-2+ ions when the organoclay material was used for sensing purposes as a glassy carbon electrode modifier. The electro-analytical procedure was based on the chemical accumulation of both analytes under open-circuit conditions, followed by the detection of the pre-concentrated species using square wave voltammetry. Upon optimization of different parameters likely to influence the electrode response, linear calibration graphs were obtained in the concentration ranges from 0.1 to 1 mu M and 0.01 to 0.1 mu M for Cd2+ and Pb2+, respectively, leading to low limits of detection (4.2 x 10(-1) M for Pb2+ and 1.2 x 10(-9) M for Cd2+).