A detailed kinetic study of the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene in the presence of an activated carbon catalyst is presented. The partial pressures of ethylbenzene and oxygen, as well as temperature, were varied one at a time, covering a wide range of experimental conditions. The experimental results were found to be well described by a kinetic model in which the main reaction occurs by a redox mechanism involving quinone/hydroquinone groups on the surface of the carbon catalyst. The activation energies determined for the main reaction and for the formation of carbon oxides are comparable to those determined on coked oxide catalysts.