Two hypercrosslinked resins with similar physical characters but different surface chemistry were synthesized and used to remove phenol from aqueous solutions. The FTIR spectra, elemental analysis and the Boehm titration were used to characterize the chemical properties of the resins. The adsorption experiments were carried out using the bottle-point technique, and the effects of the surface chemistry on the adsorption were discussed. The adsorption data fit well with the Freundlich model, indicating the heterogeneity of the resins surface. It could be seen from the experimental results that the adsorption capacity increased with the increase in the total surface concentration of oxygen-containing groups. The pH dependence and the effects of ionic strength were also discussed. The kinetic adsorption data fit well with the pseudo-second order model, and the results showed that the surface oxygen-containing groups have little effect on the adsorption rate.