Robert Marcinkiewicz-Szukowski denied murder when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court.
The 27-year-old, of Rossington Road, Sneinton, was charged on April 25 with the killing of Bogdan Nawrocki, pictured, who has been missing since January.
Marcinkiewicz-Szukowski was further remanded in custody on Friday, August 29, after denying the allegation.
His case will be mentioned at court on October 20, before his trial, provisionally set for January 12 and to last up to four weeks.
Marcinkiewicz- Szukowski, of Rossington Road, Sneinton, is alleged to have killed Polish-born Mr Nawrocki, 22. He was last seen in the Radford area at 8.30pm on January 5.
Despite a large-scale search operation and numerous media appeals, he has not been seen since.
House-to-house inquiries and searches for Bogdan's body have been carried out in Radford. Police urged anyone with information to get in touch on 0115 844 6913.
