With increasing production and application of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), the interaction between CNTs and natural organic matter (NOM) in water has been attracting more and more concerns. In this study, adsorption of three NOM analogues including salicylic acid (SA), phthalic acid (PA) and catechol (CA) on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as well as commercial powdered activated carbon (PAC) were investigated. All adsorption isotherms were fitted well by Freundlich isotherm model (R-adj(2) > 0.99), which was supported by the site energy distribution analysis. PAC possessed 2-10 times higher adsorption capacities towards the three compounds than MWCNTs, indicating the presence of pore-filling effect. Hydrophobic interaction, electrostatic interaction, hydrogen bond and pi-pi interaction acted simultaneously but had different contributions in the adsorption of the three NOM analogues on PAC and MWCNTs. Thermodynamic analysis revealed that SA and PA adsorption on the two adsorbents were exothermic while CA endothermic. Variation of the thermodynamic parameters including Delta G degrees, Delta H degrees and Delta S degrees depended on the adsorbate loadings. These findings are expected to promote the understanding of the interaction between NOM and CNTs for further evaluating the environmental risks of nanomaterials. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.