<p>Malaysia is rich in natural resources and biodiversity. Each year, a substantial amount of biomass is produced from the industrial residues, agricultural residues, and various wood sources from sawmill and plywood mills. Many research works have been dedicated to the thermal conversion of carbon rich biomass into activated carbon via chemical and physical activation. Even so, most biomass based activated carbons are developed up to lab formulation and optimization phase, without further proceeding into the upscaling of continuous process and commercialization phase. Hence, this paper provides information on the activated carbon supply and demand particularly in Malaysia, as well as discussion on the (i) activated carbon preparation techniques, (ii) current technologies for effective scaling up from lab to pilot and production scale of biomass-based activated carbon, (iii) activated carbons’ standard and test methods, as well as (iv) challenges in the biomass industry and recommendations for the way forward. With the concurrence of sustainability initiatives and growing industrialization, the demand for activated carbons is expected to surge in the upcoming years for pollution mitigation in gas and water treatment applications. Therefore, it is crucial to seize this opportunity and propel the Malaysian biomass and activated carbon industry to achieve its full potential.</p>