This article presents measurement data using environmental magnetism method on the bulk surface sediments related to the research article entitled “Heavy metal contents and magnetic properties of surface sediments in volcanic and tropical environment from Brantas River, Jawa Timur Province, Indonesia” Mariyanto et al., 2019. Surface sediments were taken from 20 different locations along Brantas River. In the laboratory, a series of magnetic measurements was conducted on sediment samples i.e. magnetic susceptibility, ARM (Anhysteretic Remanent Magnetization) and IRM (Isothermal Remanent Magnetization). These environmental magnetism data were used to characterize bulk surface sediments in the study area. © 2019 The Author(s)