The application of activated carbon fibers (ACFs) to remove phenol from water is studied. The adsorption capacity of ACFs is favorable and the adsorption isothermal data can be represented by Langmuir-type equation for phenol concentrations changed from 0 to 0.8 kg/m(3). The regeneration of ACF adsorbent saturated with phenol in a fixed bed can be achieved by using ethanol or sodium hydroxide solution, respectively, many times with 90% efficiency of regeneration. A mathematical model is applied to evaluate the effects of intraparticle and external mass transfer resistances as well as the axial dispersion on the breakthrough curves. The axial dispersion is confirmed to be the main parameter that controls the adsorption kinetics.