This study accessed the adsorption characteristics of the 9 trihalomethanes (THMs) on coal-based granular activated carbon (GAC). The breakthrough appeared first for CHCl3 and sequentially for CHBr2Cl, CHBr3, CHCl2I, CHBrClI, CHBr2I, CHClI2, CHBrI2, and CHI3. The maximum adsorption capacity (X/M) for the 9 THMs with apparent breakthrough points ranged from 1,175 μg/g (for CHCl3) to 11,087 μg/g (for CHI3). Carbon usage rate (CUR) for CHCl3 was 0.149 g/day, 5.5 times higher than for CHI3 (0.027 g/day).