By using purified divinylbenzene (DVB, 98.8%) or technical DVB (79.3%), the hydrophobic, but water-wettable or swellable porous copolymer resins based on DVB and acrylonitrile (AN) could be prepared with a wide range of pore structures under certain conditions. The specific surface area for the resulting AN/DVB resin, with an AN/DVB ratio of 40/60 (by mole), could reach a value of 704 m(2)/g, while such a resin is still water wettable or swellable by direct contact with water. The adsorption behavior of the AN/DVB resins was investigated by focusing on the comparison between the resins with and without prewetting, using caffeine and phenol as model adsorbates. Adsorption behavior of the AN/DVB resins, without prewetting, correlates well with the wetting ability of the resins in water, suggesting that a well water-wettable hydrophobic porous AN/DVB resin could be directly applied, in a dry state, to the adsorption in an aqueous medium, almost without diminishing the ability of the resin to adsorb the solutes. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals.