In mercury adsorption on activated carbons both physisorptive and chemisorptive mechanisms play a role. The systematic investigation of Hg-0 chemisorption is difficult because equilibrium capacities cannot be determined due to slow adsorption mechanisms. Therefore, the present publication suggests a three-step approach: 1) Breakthrough curves are used to assess the dynamics of Hg-0 adsorption. 2) The contributions of physisorption and chemisorption can be distinguished by coupled adsorption and desorption experiments. 3) Temperature programmed desorption (TPD) experiments are performed to get information about specific chemisorptive binding sites on the surface. This approach was tested on four characteristic examples of impregnated and non-impregnated activated carbons.