Mechanical harvest of cotton will always be contaminated with various amounts of non-fiber material (gin by-products) which are normally separated from the cotton fiber at the ginning operation. However, the utilization of this non-fiber material as possible value-added products has been a challenging subject for scientists and engineers. This progress report will present some physical characteristics and chemical composition of the gin by-products, as well as some data on metal ion absorption of activated carbon (value-added product) derived from various fractions of the gin by-products. Other potential utilization will also be discussed.