Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have varying degrees of toxicity, they can easily contaminate edible oils owing to their lipophilic, and thus have adverse effects on human body. The adsorption methods of sorbents have been widely used in vegetable oil processing and activated carbon has a certain degree of efficiency in removing PAHs during the decolorization process. In this study, the surface properties and pore size structures of three activated carbons (wood-based activated carbon, coal-based activated carbon, and coconut shell activated carbon) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes were investigated by SEM, TEM, XRD, FT-IR, and N₂ adsorption-desorption experiment to explore their adsorption of PAHs, V_E and phytosterols from peanut oil. The results showed that coconut shell activated carbon had a rough and porous surface structure and therefore had a strong adsorption efficiency on PAHs, V_E and phytosterols, while wood-based activated carbon and coal-based activated carbon had similar surface and pore structures and thus had similar adsorption efficiency. Compared with activated carbon, multi-walled carbon nanotubes had a tubular structure, larger pore size and smaller specific surface area, and had weaker adsorption effects on PAHs, V_E and phytosterols. In addition, the adsorption efficiency of the four adsorbents was related to the surface roughness, the number of surface functional groups, the specific surface area and the pore structure, which will provide a reference for the application of carbon-based materials in edible oil by exploring the removal mechanism of PAHs from edible oils.