Highly mesoporous spherical activated carbons (SACs) were prepared from divinylbenzene-derived polymers by ZnCl(2) activation; the effects of activation temperature and retention time on the yield and textural properties of the resulting SACs were studied. SACs thus prepared were characterized by N(2) adsorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and aqueous adsorption assays. All the SACs were generated with high yield (>54%) and high mesopore fraction (around 80%). SEM and XRD analyses of SAC28 verified the presence of the disordered micrographite stacking with developed mesoporosity. Compared with conventional activated carbons, SAC28 prepared in our study exhibited a comparable adsorption capacity of 190 mg g(-1) for bisphenol A and even more excellent capacity of 330 mg g(-1) for phenol. Bisphenol A preloading significantly reduced the adsorption capacity of SAC28 for phenol due to both reduction of adsorption sites and pore blockage.