Increase in the agricultural production has resulted in the accumulation of plant based materials which can be used as starting materials for various sophisticated applications. Low cost, easy availability and low toxicity makes these carbonaceous materials much needed for various applications. These plant based biomass is a good natural source to produce nanoporous carbon materials (NPCM). They are endowed with properties like high specific surface area, good pore volume, possibility of surface functionalization and heteroatom doping etc. This review gives an overview about various plant derivatives used for the synthesis of NPCM. Most of these biomass materials are plant wastes which otherwise add to pollution. These bio materials are carbonized and activated using various activation agents to form NPCM with excellent surface properties. Out of the myriad applications of NPCM, this review focuses mainly on the adsorption of polluting chemicals as well as their effectiveness in energy storage systems.