Abstract: Strong acidic polystyrene-based cation exchange resin （D001）was used as carbonization precursor to prepare metal-loaded modified spherical activated carbons (SACs) for fuel adsorptive desulfurization. The modification procedures included metal loading through metallic cation exchange in metal-containg salt solutions (Cu2+，Ni2+，Fe3+ nitrates) , carbonized by calcinations followed by activation with CO2. TG, XRD, SEM and BET characterizations show that after carbonization and modification the SACs remain the spherical shape having large pore volume and specific surface area. The metallic particle disperses over the carbonized surface as the activated centers for adsorptive desulfurization. The desulfurization capacities of SACs were investigated by model gasoline (MG) composed of thiophene dissolved in cyclohexane. The results reveal that the effect of the type of metal loaded on adsorption capacity was the order Fe＞Ni＞Cu. The adsorption capacity decreases with temperature rising from 20 ℃ to 60 ℃. The first-order and second-order kinetic equations both fit the adsorption mass transfer process well. The SACs can be regenerated by ultrasonic ethanol solvent elution and heat treatment. After 3 times regeneration, the reactivated carbon still has a good adsorption capability of thiophene.