•Adsorption of organic compounds on GO and RGO.•Adsorption of metal ions on GO and RGO.•Adsorption of oil spills on GO and RGO.•Application of GO and RGO in chromatography.•Application of GO and RGO in solid-phase extraction. Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms densely packed into a honeycomb crystal lattice with unique electronic, chemical, and mechanical properties, is the 2D allotrope of carbon. Owing to the remarkable properties, graphene and graphene-based materials are likely to find potential applications as a sorbent in analytical chemistry. The current review focuses predominantly on the recent development of graphene-based materials and demonstrates their enhanced performance in adsorption of organic compounds, metal ions, and solid phase extraction as well as in separation science since mostly 2012.