In this work, the effects of the microporosity and chemical surface of polymeric adsorbents on adsorptive properties of phenol were investigated. Textural parameters of four kinds of polymeric resins, namely AB-8, D4006, NKA-II and D16 resin, were separately measured by ASAP 2010. The surface chemistry of these polymeric resins was determined by means of inverse gas chromatography (IGC) and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS). Static equilibrium adsorption experiments were carried out to obtain the isotherms of phenol on the polymeric resins. It was shown that NKA-II and AB-8 resin possessed relatively high BET surface areas and micropore volumes. while D4006 and D16 resin possessed comparatively low BET surface areas and micropore volumes. The results of IGC experiments revealed that NKA-II resin had extraordinary high specific component of the free energy of adsorption both for polar acetone and benzene probe, and thus extraordinary strong surface polarity compared to the other polymeric resins. It was also found that the isotherm of phenol on NKA-II was much higher than that on the other polymeric resins due to its strongest surface polarity and largest micropore volume among four kinds of resins. These experimental observations indicated that adsorption of phenol on the polymeric resins depended greatly on their microporosity and surface chemistry. The well-developed microporosity and the strong surface polarity would improve the adsorption of phenol on the polymeric resins. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.