It has been widely recognized that dye removal by activated carbon adsorption is due to the surface action between the dye and the functional groups present in the surface of the carbon. This work presents a systematic experimental study on kinetics and equilibrium of adsorption of phenol red (PR) on teff (Eragrostis) husk activated carbon (THAC) and husk powder (HP). The adsorbents were characterized by using X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectrometric techniques to understand the effect of surface properties on the adsorption of phenol red. The adsorption process was optimized with respect to pH, adsorbate initial concentrations, adsorbent dosage and contact time. Based on the results obtained, it was shown that teff husk activated carbon was more effective adsorbent than teff husk powder. The maximum adsorption of PR dye on THAC and HP occurred at pH of 5.2 and 5.0, respectively. Kinetic parameters of adsorption such as the Lagergren rate constant and the intraparticle diffusion rate constant were also determined. The calculated values of the amount of dye adsorbed per gram of adsorbent at equilibrium (qe) using pseudo second order equation were in good agreement with the corresponding experimental values. The observed negative value of Gibbs free energy of adsorption (∆Gads) indicates that the adsorption process is spontaneous and the positive enthalpy of adsorption (∆Hads) as well as entropy of adsorption (∆S) show that entropy gain is the driving force rather than the energy change for the adsorption of phenol red on the THAC and HP.