In the paper the chemical modification of activated carbon was presented. The activated carbon was modified by nitric acid. For the tested activated carbons, the following physical and chemical properties were determined: bulk density, pH of the water extract, and effective diameter of the grains. Elemental and technical analyses were performed. The pore distribution was determined using mercury porosimetry. Low-temperature nitrogen isotherms were used to analyze the microporous structure. The chemical properties of the surfaces of the tested adsorbents were interpreted by means of the Boehm method. The water vapor adsorption isotherms at 303 K were determined and the adsorption capacity towards methanol was tested using the desiccator method. Thermogravimetric tests were used and, at the same time, the released oxidizing gases from the tested samples were analyzed using a mass spectrometer. As a result of the modification, activated carbon enriched with acidic oxygen functional groups was obtained. The resulting modified activated carbon showed worse structural parameters (when compred to umodified activated carbon), however it was characterized by a higher adsorption capacity in relation to polar adsorbates such as water and methanol, especially in the low pressure range.