Amphiphilic porous hollow carbonaceous spheres (PHCSs) were synthesized via mild hydrothermal treatment of yeast cells and further pyrolyzing post treatment. The morphology, chemical composition, porosity, and structure of the carbonaceous materials were investigated. It is evident that the carbonaceous materials were composed of the carbonized organic matter (COM) and the noncarbonized organic matter (NOM), and the relative COM and NOM fractions could be adjusted through changing the temperature of hydrothermal and/or pyrolyzing treatment. The phenol sorption properties of the carbonaceous materials had been investigated and the sorption isotherms fit well to the modified Freundlich equation. It was found that the sorption isotherm of phenol onto PHCSs was practically linear even at extreme high concentrations, which was fewer reported for activated carbon or other inorganic materials. This type of sorption isothermals was assigned to a partition mechanism, and the largest value of the partition coefficient (K(f)) and carbon-normalized K(f) (K(oc)) is 56.7 and 91.5 mL g(-1), respectively. Moreover, PHCSs exhibit fast sorption kinetic and facile regeneration property. The results indicate PHCSs are potential effective sorbents for removal of undesirable organic chemicals in wastewater, especially at high concentrations. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.