Abstract: Activated carbon with high adsorption properties were prepared from coconut shell by pyrolysis and activation. The effects of activation temperature and time on adsorption properties of activated carbons were investigated. The results show that under the condition of activation temperature at 900 ℃ for 8 hours with the heating rate 10 ℃/min, the prepared carbon has the iodine adsorption of 1 628.54 mg/g and methylene blue adsorption of 375 mg/g, and the yield is 9.41%. The results of N2 adsorption show that its surface area is 1 723 m2/g, with total pore volume of 0.87 cm3/g, micropore volume of 0.68 cm3/g, mesopore volume of 0.18 cm3/g, and the average pore size of the activated carbon is about 2.03 nm. The properties of the activated carbon from coconut shell by pyrolysis and activation are superior to that of water purification and monosodium glutamate decolorization activated carbon in national standard.