SO2 and NO are the main precursors for acid precipitation. Experimental studies on desulfurization and denitrification were carried out using microwave irradiation over activated carbon carried catalyst. The results show that adsorption capacities and removal efficiencies of activated carbon carried Cu-based catalyst were higher than Mn-based or Zn-based ones. The adsorption capacity of SO2 improved with the increasing moisture in flue gas, but the adsorption capacity of NO had a peak at 6.23mgg-1 and then began to drop. The desulfurization efficiency increased with O2 content in flue gas, but no noticeable change of denitrification efficiency was observed from the experimental data. The desulfurization efficiency descended with the increase of moisture in flue gas, while the denitrification efficiency augmented earlier and reached a plateau later with the addition of the water steam. In addition, characterization of activated carbon confirmed that the main active component of Cu-based catalyst is CuO.