Abstract: For the adsorption separation of m/p-cresol isomers, NaZSM-5 molecular sieve with a Si/Al ratio of 50 was selected as precursor due to its superior separation factor. Accompanied by alkali-treatment in various concentration NaOH solutions, a series of modified ZSM-5 with hierarchical pores were successfully synthesized. The adsorbents were characterized by N₂ adsorption-desorption and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Static and dynamic adsorption experiments were employed to investigate the adsorption separation performance of such modified ZSM-5 adsorbents, followed by kinetic principles analysis. From the results, compared with the bare molecular sieves, the adsorption rate of p-cresol on modified ZSM-5 especially that treated by 0. 2 mol·L^-1 NaOH solution at 85 ℃ for 1 h, so-called 0. 2-85-1 sample, was greatly enhanced. This improvement could be attributed to the enhanced mass transfer caused by introduced mesopores in 0. 2-85-1. In detail, on 0. 2-85-1, the adsorption equilibrium time for p-cresol was shortened by 50%, and its maximum adsorption capacity increased by 50%, from 303 kg·m^-3·d^-1 to 454 kg·m^-3·d^-1. In addition, according to the kinetic fitting results, the adsorption behaviors of p-cresol and m-cresol on the 0. 2-85-1 were in accordance with pseudo-second-order kinetic model, confirming an order of magnitude increase in adsorption rate after alkali treatment.