Abstract: The radioactive xenon is produced in nuclear facilities which requires special treatment before allowed to release into the atmosphere. In the cleaning process of gaseous waste from nuclear power plant, the adsorption of Xe is great important. Five porous materials were selected, including granular active carbons, molecular sieve and active carbon fiber, and the comparison of their performances was carried out in terms of specific surface area, pore volume, as well as static adsorption capacity in order to determine the most qualified material. The influences of the inlet gas pressure and the length-diameter ratio of the adsorption column on adsorption of Xe in active carbon were studied. The adsorptive capacity of the column is the best when the length-diameter ratio is 17∶1.