Method for producing porous carbon material and spherical porous carbon material

A novel method for producing a porous carbon material which makes it possible to easily produce a porous carbon material having a desired shape; and a spherical porous carbon material are provided. The method includes immersing a carbon-containing material having a desired shape and composed of a compound, alloy or non-equilibrium alloy containing carbon in a metal bath, the metal bath having a solidification point that is lower than a melting point of the carbon-containing material, the metal bath being controlled to a lower temperature than a minimum value of a liquidus temperature within a compositional fluctuation range extending from the carbon-containing material to carbon by decreasing the other non-carbon main components, to thereby selectively elute the other non-carbon main components into the metal bath while maintaining an external shape of the carbon-containing material to give a porous carbon material having microvoids.