A series of micro- and mesoporous activated carbons were prepared from two kinds of phenolic resin using a metal treated chemical activation methodology. N2-adsorption data were used to characterize the surface properties of the produced activated carbons. Results of the surface properties and pore distribution analysis showed that phenolic resin can be successfully converted to micro- and mesoporous activated carbons with specific surface areas higher than 973 m2/g. Activated carbons with porous structure were produced by controlling the amount of metal chlorides (CuCl2). Pore evolvement depends on the amount of additional metal chloride and precursors used. From the SEM and EDX data, copper contents were shown to be most effected by the incremental addition of metal chloride.