Characteristics of adsorption equilibrium, kinetic and thermodynamic of aniline blue onto activated carbon from aqueous solution were investigated as function of initial concentration, contact time and temperature. Adsorption isotherm of aniline blue was analyzed by Langmuir, Freundlich, Redlich-Peterson, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich models. Langmuir isotherm model fit better with isothermal data than other isotherm models. Estmated Langmuir separation factors (RL=0.036~0.068) indicated that adsorption process of aniline blue by activated carbon could be an effective treatment method. Adsorption kinetic data were fitted to pseudo first order model, pseudo second order model and intraparticle diffusion models. The kinetic results showed that the adsorption of aniline blue onto activated carbon well followed pseudo second-order model. Adsorption mechanism was evaluated in two steps, film diffusion and intraparticle diffusion, by intraparticle diffusion model. Thermodynamic parameters such as Gibbs free energy, enthalpy and entropy for adsorption process were estimated. Enthalpy change (48.49 kJ/mol) indicated that this adsorption process was physical adsorption and endothermic. Since Gibbs free energy decreased with increasing temperature, the adsorption reaction became more spontaneously with increasing temperature. The isosteric heat of adsorption indicated that there is interaction between the adsorbent and the adsorbate because the energy heterogeneity of the adsorbent surface.