In this study, activated carbons with high surface area prepared by a simple and rapid method from durian shell waste by a one-step carbonization-activation process. The activation process was performed by various activators (i.e, using acid, ethanol, water) and under supporting of microwave irradiation at 150 W for 1 hour. The morphology, structure, and composition of activated carbons were determined by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) techniques. Moreover, the surface area of this prepared activated carbon was also observed using the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis method. The results showed that activated carbons provided a high surface area about 683.24 m2 /g more ~24.2 times that of durian shell ash with surface area ~26.18 m2 /g. The results of this study present a relatively simple process for producing activated carbon made from durian shell waste.