A commercial active carbon was tested as an adsorbent for the removal of phenol from aqueous solutions. The optimum conditions for maximum adsorption in terms of shaking time. amount of the adsorbent. and concentration of the adsorbate were identified. The adsorption data Fitted the Langmuir isotherm equation in the whole range of concentrations studied. The adsorption of picric acid, pyrogallol and salicylic acid at selected conditions for phenol was also studied. Elution studies to recover the adsorbed phenol from active carbon were performed with distilled water. NaOH and HCl solutions.