Magnetically responsive porous materials possess unique properties in adsorption processes such as magnetic-induced separation and heat generation in alternating magnetic fields, which greatly facilitates recycling procedures, favors long-term operation, and improves desorption rate, making conventional adsorption processes highly efficient. With increasing interest in magnetic adsorbents, great progress has been made in designing and understanding of magnetically responsive porous materials varying from monoliths to nanoscale particles used for adsorption including oil uptake, removal of hazardous substances from water, deep desulfurization of fuels, and CO2 capture in the past few years. Therefore, a review summarizing the advanced strategies of synthesizing these magnetically responsive adsorbents and the utilization of their magnetism in practical applications is highly desired. In this review, we give a comprehensive overview of this emerging field, highlighting the strategies of exquisitely incorporating magnetism to porous materials and subtly exploiting their magnetic responsiveness. Further innovations for fabricating or utilizing magnetic adsorbents are expected to be fueled. The potential opportunities and challenges are also discussed. (C) 2018 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.