Abstract: Catalytic performance of several activated carbons,removal mechanism and effect of carbon surface chemistry on catalytic activities in oxidation of dibenzothiopene(DBT) with hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by the activated carbons were studied.Adsorptive and catalytic performances of the activated carbons and their correlation were investigated.Dynamic reactivity of DBT on the selected activated carbons was investigated.Moreover,the effects of the aqueous pH on DBT adsorption and the catalytic activities of the activated carbons were investigated.Finally,an activated carbon of wood origin was modified by three treatments.The effect of carbon surface chemistry on its catalytic properties was studied.Experimental results indicate that activated carbon has high catalytic activity,and conversion of DBT in n-octane solution can reach above 81%.Adsorption performance of powder wood carbons is higher than that of the fruit shell carbon and the coal-based carbons.The higher the adsorption capacity of the activated carbon is,the better its catalytic performance is.The better the catalytic performance of the activated carbon is,the higher dynamic reactivity of DBT on the activated carbon is.It is advantageous to the adsorption and oxidation of DBT when the aqueous pH is less than 2.The oxidative removal of DBT shows a strong dependence on the number of carbonyl group due to a factor: surface carbonyl groups can accelerate hydrogen peroxide to produce hydroxyl radicals.