The aim of this work is to prepare CMK-1 modified with Zn and Ni in order to improve its capacity in hydrogen storage. The approach that we have followed includes synthesis of nanostructures with the experimental study of its adsorption capacity and storage properties. We have shown that CMK-1 ordered porous carbon modified with metals is a promising material for hydrogen storage. The incorporation of metals was performed by wetness impregnation. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller methods. The CMK-1 modified with Zn showed the highest H-2 uptake at 77K and at low and high pressure (1.5 and 4.4wt.% at 1 and 10bar, respectively). The introduction of Ni into CMK-1 does not increase hydrogen storage capacity at low pressure. However, at a higher pressure (10bars), Ni-CMK-1 displays improved results in hydrogen uptake compared with those of CMK-1 pristine, 2.4 and 2.1wt.%, respectively. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.