In continuation of previous work on utilizing rice husks, this study aimed to prepare mesoporous activated carbons using residues of sodium hydroxide-pretreated RHs, and then examine their dye adsorption performance. The influences of the activation temperature and activation time on the surface area, pore volume, and pore radius of the activated carbon were investigated based on nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms and transmission electron microscopy. The adsorptive behavior of the mesoporous activated carbons obtained under optimum preparation conditions was evaluated using methyleneblue as the model adsorbate. The adsorption kinetics was studied by pseudo-first-and pseudo-second-order models, and the adsorption isotherms were studied by Langmuir and Freundlich models. The pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir isotherm were found to fit well the adsorption characteristics of the as-prepared mesoporous activated carbons. Thermodynamic data of the adsorption process were also obtained to elucidate the adsorption thermo-chemistry between the activated carbons produced from NaOH-pretreated RHs and MB molecules. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.