<;P>;PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a porous carbon material having excellent characteristics, and to provide an adsorbent, a filler, a mask, an adsorbing sheet and a carrier based on the porous carbon material. <;P>;SOLUTION: The porous carbon material uses a silicon-containing plant-derived material as raw material, and has a value of specific surface area of &ge;130m<;SP>;2<;/SP>;/g as measured by a nitrogen BET (Brunauer-Emmerit-Teller) method and volumes of mesopores and micropores of &ge;0.1 cm<;SP>;3<;/SP>;/g, and includes more mesopores with a pore diameter of &le;20 nm than the mesopores with a pore diameter of >;20 nm. <;P>;COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT