Low-cost high surface area microporous carbons were prepared from cotton stalk and cotton stalk fiber by H3PO4 activation. The adsorption of lead ions on the carbons was investigated by conducting a series of batch adsorption experiments. The influence of solution pH value, contact time and temperature was investigated. The adsorption kinetics, thermodynamic behavior and mechanism were also discussed. The surface area and pore structure of the activated carbons were analyzed by BET equation, BJH method and H-K method according to the data from nitrogen adsorption at 77K. Boehm titration, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), the point of zero charge (pH(PZC)) measurement and elemental analysis were used to characterize the surface properties. The results show that the carbons from cotton stalk and cotton stalk fiber have high surface area of 1570 and 1731 m2 x g(-1), and high content of oxygen-containing functional groups of 1.43 and 0.83 mmol x g(-1). The adsorption experiments show that the carbons have high adsorption capacity for lead, and the maximum adsorption equilibrium amount was found to be 120 mg x g(-1). The adsorption amount increased with contact time, and almost 80% of the adsorption occurred in the first 5 min. The pseudo-second-order model describes the adsorption kinetics most effectively. The Freundlich isotherm was found to the best explanation for experimental data. The negative change in free energy (delta G0) and positive change in enthalpy (delta H0) indicate that the adsorption is a spontaneous and endothermic process, and the adsorption of lead ions onto the carbons might be involved in an ion-exchange mechanism.