A simple and efficient method to remove hydrophobic phenolic pollutants from aqueous solutions has been investigated using the inclusion ability and cationic property of mono(6amino-6-deoxy)-alpha-cyclodextrin (ACD) and a cation exchanger. The inclusion complexes of nonylphenol and bisphenol A with ACD were almost completely adsorbed onto a column of a cation exchanger and desorbed with diluted aqueous ammonia solution. Moreover, bisphenol A was also adsorbed on a column of the cation exchanger that was pretreated with ACD.