A tobacco. derived activated carbon (TAC) was prepared from tobacco waste using KOH activation with a KOH/tobacco carbon mass ratio of 3 at 800 degrees C for 1 h, and was used as an electrode material for a supercapacitor. The tobacco waste was hydrothermally treated in a 10% (v/v) HCl solution to remove metallic impurities and carbonized before activation. The carbonized tobacco has a low Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of 111. 25 m(2) center dot g(-1), a pore volume of 0. 11 cm(3) center dot g(-1), an average pore diameter of 1. 77 nm and a specific capacitance of 37 F center dot g(-1) at a current density of 0. 5 A center dot g(-1). The TAC has a high BET surface area of 1 297. 6 m2 center dot g(-1), a large pore volume of 0. 52 cm3 center dot g(-1), and a pore size distribution with a median pore size of 0. 52 nm. It has a specific capacitance of 148 F center dot g(-1) at a current density of 0. 5 A center dot g(-1) in a 6 M KOH electrolyte, and an excellent cycling stability with no capacitance fade after 9 000 cycles at a current density of 1 A center dot g(-1).