Abstract: To selectively reduce the phenolic compounds in cigarette smoke,carbon nanotube composite(CNTM) was facilely synthesized through catalytic combustion from polypropylene,Ni2O3,and organic-modified montmorillonite.The synthesized CNTM was characterized by scanning electron microscopy,transmission electron microscopy,X-ray diffraction,Raman spectroscopy,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy,thermal gravimetric analysis and BET surface area analyzer.The effect of CNTM,as a filter additive,on the removal of harmful components in mainstream cigarette smoke was investigated,and the selective adsorption mechanism of CNTM to phenols was deliberated.The results showed that:1) CNTM was mainly composed of multi-layer carbon nanotubes mingled with layers of montmorillonite flakes,and contained very little amorphous carbon and Ni element.2) CNTM presented meso-and macroporous structure with a specific surface area of 203.30 m²/g and total pore volume of 0.61 cm³/g.3) CNTM reduced the hazard index of cigarette by 16.7%,and its selective reduction rate to phenols in mainstream cigarette smoke reached 24.3%.4) With its unique structural character and the hexagonal arrays of its multi-layer namo tube,which contained rich and abundant chemical functional groups,CNTM presented excellent selective physisorption and chemisorption to phenolic compounds.