With the development of economy and increasing environmental awareness, how to effectively remove organic pollutants in wastewater is a research hotspot. Adsorption is one of the effective methods, and the adsorption material is the key factor to determine the efficiency. In this review, biomass-derived carbon materials as adsorbents of organic pollutants and the adsorption mechanism are discussed in depth. The effects of carbonization and activation on the morphology and structure of carbon materials; the modification strategies of carbon adsorbents, the adsorption performance of biomass-derived carbon materials for organic pollutants are described and illustrated; the future work of the biomass-derived carbon materials is proposed. This review summarizes the recent developments of carbon-based adsorbents derived from biomass materials for the removal of organic pollutants. All in all, this is the first comprehensive review on discussing the application of biomass-derived carbon materials as the adsorbents of organic pollutants (VOCs, dyes, drugs, etc.), including the adsorption mechanisms, carbonization and activation methods, modification strategies, and models for isotherm and kinetics.image