Mesoporous semi-coke activated carbon(SAC)adsorbent was prepared for the removal of phenol from water using semi-coke(SC)as raw material and its activation by KOH activation method.The effects of conditions such as initial concentration,contact time,solution pH,co-existing salt ions and organic matter on the adsorption performance were investigated and the SAC before and after adsorption was characterised.The experimental results showed that the adsorption isotherm of phenol by SAC at 25 ℃ was in accordance with the Freundlich model,and the maximum adsorption amount was 271.55 mg/g,which was significantly better than that of SC(39.34 mg/g);the adsorption kinetics followed the proposed second-order kinetic equation,and the adsorption rate had a faster rate in the first 50 min;the dynamic adsorption was achieved at an initial concentration of phenol of 250 mg/g,the dynamic adsorption amount was 159.86 mg/g,and the phenol effluent concentration was lower than 0.5 mg/L.SAC had strong anti-interference ability,the effective adsorption of phenol in the pH range of 3~9,and the adsorption amount of phenol by SAC was stable at 165 mg/g when there were high salts/organic matter in the solution.potassium persulfate oxidation was used to regenerate the saturated semicoke activated carbon(ASAC)was regenerated when the solution pH was 5,the concentration of potassium persulfate(KPS)was 0.75 g/L,and the regeneration time was 4 h.The adsorption of phenol by SAC after three cycles of regeneration reached 72 mg/g.The results of the characterisation of SAC before and after adsorption showed that the removal of phenol by SAC was mainly through the π-π interaction force.The activated mesoporous semi-coke activated carbon has good adsorption effect on phenol in complex water and can be regenerated by persulfate oxidation,which has a broad application prospect in phenol wastewater treatment.