This work explores the feasibility of Jerusalem artichoke stem (JAS), an agricultural waste, as an alternative precursor for fabrication of mesoporous activated carbon (MAC) via conventional ZnCl₂ activation. The as-prepared JAS-MACs were characterized by thermogravimetric, nitrogen gas adsorption isotherm and high resolution scanning electron microscopy analysis. The interacting effects of chemical dosage, activation temperature and time on the mesoporosity, mesopore volume and carbon yield were investigated, and further optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area, mesoporosity and mesopore volume of the JAS-MAC prepared under optimum condition were identified to be 1631 m²·g^-1, 90.16% and 1.11 cm³·g^-1, respectively. Compared with commercial activated carbons, this carbon exhibited a comparable monolayer adsorption capacity of 374.5 mg·g^-1 for Methylene Blue dye. The findings suggest that RSM could be an effective approach for optimizing the pore structure of fabricated activated carbons.