In this study, the activated carbon fibers (ACFs) were prepared using cotton woven waste as precursor. The cotton woven waste was first partly dissolved by 80% phosphoric acid and then was pre-soaked in 7.5% diammonium hydrogen phosphate solution. Finally, carbonization and activation were proceeded to get ACF. The optimum preparation conditions, including carbonization temperature, carbonization time, activation temperature and activation time, were chosen by orthogonal design. Nitrogen adsorption/desorption test was conducted to characterize the prepared ACF's pore structure. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) were employed to characterize its chemical properties and morphology. Adsorption of oilfield wastewater was used to evaluate its adsorption properties. The results show that the prepared ACF is in the form of fiber, with the sectional diameters of 11.7 x 2.6 mu m and the surface area of 789 m(2)/g. XPS results show that carbon concentration of the prepared ACF is higher than that of the commercial ACF. When the prepared ACF dosage is 6 g/L, over 80% of COD and over 70% of chrominance can be removed after 24 h of adsorption at 18 degrees C. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.