Activated carbon with high adsorption performance was prepared by the ZnCl2-activated pyrolysis of waste polyester fabric. The as-prepared samples were systematically characterized by thermos-gravimetric analysis, FT-IR spectroscopy, XRD, SEM and BET. The adsorption performance was measured by using the iodine and methylene blue as the target dyes. Experimental results showed that porous structured amorphous activated carbon with high adsorption performance could be prepared via the pyrolysis of the raw material. The pre-treatment in ZnCl2 solution and pyrolysis temperature could significantly affect the adsorption performance of the target sample. The activation effect of ZnCl2 could introduce large amount of pores in the structure, resulting in larger specific surface area and higher adsorption capacity. When the pyrolysis temperature was set at 900 A degrees C, the as-obtained sample has a maximum BET specific surface area and a total pore volume of 1101.5 and 0.9574 cm(3) g(-1), respectively. The corresponding adsorption capacity of iodine and methylene blue was 1028 and 504 mg g(-1), respectively.