Activated carbon (AC) and carbon molecular sieve (CMS) have attracted attention as porous materials for recovery and separation of greenhouse gases. The carbon molecular sieve having uniform pores is used for collecting and separating gases because it may selectively adsorb a specific gas. The size and uniformity of pores determine the performance of the CMS, and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is widely used to coat the surface with a predetermined thickness in order to control the CMS's micropores. This CVD method can be used to control the size of pores in CMS manufacturing, but it must be optimized because of its various experimental variables. Therefore, in order to produce AC and CMS for gas adsorption and separation, this review focuses on various activation processes and pore control technologies by CVD and surface treatment.