Activated carbons with high surface area were prepared by phosphoric acid as activation agent and rice husks as precursors. It was found that the characteristics of the activated carbons were influenced not only by the preparation but also by the post-processing method. The high surface area of the activated carbons was prepared under the optimum condition (50% H3PO4 with impregnation ratio of 5:1, activation temperature of 500 degrees C, activation time of 0.5 h, wash water temperature of 100 degrees C). SiO2 content could affect the surface area of activated carbons, either. The lower SiO2 content of the activated carbons, the higher pore volume the carbons had. The SiO2 content was 11.2% when used the optimum condition. The explanation was that silicon element in rice husks reacted with H3PO4 to form silicon phosphate (SiP2O7), and it could be proved further by X-ray diffraction analysis, SiP2O7 could be removed by post-process. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.