The use of porous materials for the removal of traces of hydrogen sulphide from gas streams was investigated in this study. It was found that microporous carbons had the highest removal efficiency. This was due to the fact that carbons have extra potential for the oxidation of hydrogen sulphide while other sorbents remove the gas only by adsorption. The oxidative removal efficiency of microporous carbons was found to be a function of water vapour pressure, oxygen concentration and temperature. The mechanism of the reaction is discussed.