Abstract: The invention relates to the production of shaped high-performance adsorbents by steam activation in a rotary tunnel kiln operating in batches, in which spherically pre-formed materials are carefully pre-dried in a rotary tunnel dryer with 4-fold product turnover per kiln rotation and with a space/time ratio of from 1 to 2.5 m3/h using hot gas, then carbonised in an indirectly heated rotary tunnel kiln with 6-fold product turnover per kiln rotation and with a space/time ratio of from 5 to 10 m3/h in an inert-gas flow, and the carbonised semi-finished articles are activated in batches in an indirectly heated rotary tunnel kiln with 8-fold product turnover per kiln rotation and with a space/time ratio of from 1 to 5 m3/h with the addition of steam in an inert-gas flow. High-quality shaped high-performance adsorbents are obtained which are versatile and especially suitable for use in air separation, adsorptive cooling and as adsorbent components in textiles and synthetic fabrics.