Activated carbons prepared from two macro-algal biomass Sargassum longifolium (SL) and Hypnea valentiae (HV) have been examined for the removal of phenol from aqueous solution. The activated carbon has been prepared by zinc chloride activation. Experiments have been carried out at different activating agent/precursor ratio and carbonization temperature, which had significant effect on the pore structure of carbon. Developed activated carbon has been characterized by BET surface area (S-BET) analysis and iodine number. The carbons, ZSLC-800 and ZHVC-800, showed surface area around 802 and 783 m(2) g(-1), respectively. The activated carbon developed showed substantial capability to adsorb phenol from aqueous solutions. The kinetic data were fitted to the models of pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intraparticle diffusion models. Column studies have also been carried out with ZSLC-800 activated carbon. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.