Information on carbon nanostructures (fullerenes, nanotubes, graphene, nanodiamond and nanodispersed active carbon) used to develop high-performance sorbents of organics and heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions is collected and analyzed. The advantages in the synthesis of hybrid carbon nanostructures and the possibilities of surface modification of these systems in order to carry out fast sorption pre-concentration are considered. Prospects for application of these materials in sorption technologies and analytical chemistry are discussed. The bibliography includes 364 references.