Abstract: Five coals and three additives were used to investigate the influence of coal structural characteristics and ad- ditives on the performance of activated carbon prepared under the same conditions. The specific surface area,pore size distribution,iodine number were used to characterize the activated carbon. The results show that the changes in micro- crystalline height and width of carbonized coals are mainly attributed to the different structural characteristics of the five raw coals. The microcrystalline structure of Taixi coal is most suitable in activation stage,and the activated carbon produced from Taixi anthracite with low ash and moderate volatile matter has the most porous micropore and the best adsorption capacity of CO2 . Among the three additives,the effect of NH4 Cl+KNO3 is the most significant,by which the specific surface area of the activated carbon is 1 093 m2 / g,the micropore volume is 0. 415 mL / g and the adsorption capacity of CO2 is 2. 41 mmol / g(0. 1 MPa,25 ℃ ).