The cocoa shell (CS) flake was ground, sieved and pressed into pellets. The pellets were carbonized at 800°C and subjected to activation at 850°C under a flow of CO 2 for several activation burn off. The cocoa shell-based activated carbon (CSAC) showed moderate surface area (248m 2 g −1 ), a low mesoporosity ratio with a pore size in the range between 2 and 4nm. CSAC also displays the presence of aliphatic, aromatic hydrocarbons, CO and a near absence of C–O. CSAC was evaluated for its ability to adsorb 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). The adsorption time and initial dye concentration study on adsorption performance was carried out in a batch system. The results indicate that the Freundlich, Temkin and Langmuir isotherms fit well (R 2 >0.9). The results from the kinetic study show that 4-NP adsorption follows pseudo-second-order and Boyd models.