Abstract: Adsorption desulfurization by activated carbon obtained from DuShanzi petroleum coke was investigated. The activated carbon was prepared through the improved physical activation and the surface area reached 500m2/g～900m2/g; its porous structure and distribution were modified by acid oxidation. With the surface acid oxidation, the amounts of oxygen function groups on the activated carbon surface increases for almost 5 times more than those on the original activated carbon. The optimum nitric acid oxidation conditions are 120oC and 40min. The optimum process conditions of desulfurization are 25oC, 1.0MPa and 6 hours by static status adsorption. Under these conditions, the sulfur content of model compound decreases from 137.9×10－6to 3.1×10－6. Activated carbon with the average pore diameter from 0.8nm to 2.1nm was effective to reduce the sulfur content in the model compound, it suggest that such a microporous structure could benefit the desulfurization.