Several macroporous polymeric adsorbents (NDA-999, XAD-8, X-5 and XAD-2) were employed in the study to adsorb phenylacetic acid from aqueous solution. Effect of salt and ambient temperature on adsorption was studied using NDA-999 adsorbent and the adsorption process conforms to Freundlich抯 model reasonably. Adsorption dynamics were conducted in batch experiments in order to make clear the mechanism of adsorption process. It is proved that the squared driving force mass transfer model can be adopted to elucidate the process. The treatment process of industrial wastewater containing high strength of phenylacetic acid was proposed for cleaner production of phenylacetic acid. Several macroporous polymeric adsorbents (NDA-999, XAD-8, X-5 and XAD-2) were employed in the study to adsorb phenylacetic acid from aqueous solution. Effect of salt and ambient temperature on adsorption was studied using NDA-999 adsorbent and the adsorption process conforms to Freundlich’s model reasonably. Adsorption dynamics were conducted in batch experiments in order to make clear the mechanism of adsorption process. It is proved that the squared driving force mass transfer model can be adopted to elucidate the process. of industrial wastewater containing high strength of phenylacetic acid was proposed for cleaner production of phenylacetic acid.