Bamboo bark based activated carbon (AC) prepared by steam activation was used for the treatment of high concentration Cr(Ⅵ) polluted water.BET,SEM,FTIR,Ph and isoelectric point measurements were used to characterize the pore structure and surface chemistry of the AC.The results showed that the specific surface area of the prepared AC was 1068 cm2·g-1,the total pore volume was 0.55 cm3·g-1,the proportion of micropores was 72.7%,and the average pore size was 1.01 nm.It mainly contained hydroxyl,carbonyl and other oxygen-containing functional groups.The single factor adsorption test found that for Cr (Ⅵ) with a mass concentration of 150 mg·L-1,the adsorption effect was the best when the amount of activated carbon was 1.2 g·L-1 and the Ph value was 2,the adsorption removal rate reached 99.7%,and the residual concentration met the national standard.Adsorption mechanisms was speculated to include four steps:AC surface functional groups were protonated;Cr(Ⅵ) anion was absorbed by the protonated surface functional groups through electrostatic attraction;the adsorbed Cr(Ⅵ) was reduced by AC;Cr(Ⅲ) was absorbed by AC or released into solution.