Activated carbons prepared from different precursors and two commercial carbons were applied as catalysts of ethylbenzene dehydrogenation carried out in the presence of nitrobenzene as an oxidiser (ODE-N process). Using of nitrobenzene enabled obtaining not only styrene, but also second industrially important product - aniline. Prior to the reaction some activated carbon samples were modified by oxidation with an air/helium mixture in order to generate carbonyl (quinone) structures on their surfaces, which are expected to be active centres of the process. The results obtained show that all samples prepared catalysed the ODE-N reaction and both surface texture and surface chemistry are important in the catalytic behaviour of activated carbons in this process. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.