Abstract: Nanoporous carbons (NPCs) are widely used in gas adsorption, catalysis and electrochemistry because of their high specific surface area, good thermal and chemical stability, etc. Although a lot of work has been done, there are still great challenges in the fabrication of NPCs. Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) with tailorable structures have the advantages of a regular and adjustable pore size, high porosity and high specific surface area, and have proved to be ideal precursors for the preparation of NPCs. To better grasp the state of the art in the preparation of NPCs, we review recent research progress on the fabrication of NPCs by the carbonization of MOFs, with a focus on the carbonization of different combinations of MOFs and guest precursors, both to tune the resulting pore sizes/textures and surface chemical structures/species and to improve the electrical conductivity and structural stability of the product in different applications.