In this report, a kind of mesoporous N‐doped carbon (CN‐x) derived from N‐containing ionic‐liquid (IL) precursors were synthesized, and Pd@CN‐x prepared by a simple ultrasound‐assisted method showed higher catalytic activity for the selective hydrogenation of phenol and its derivatives under mild reaction conditions in water than commercial Pd@C and other common Pd heterogeneous catalysts. The catalytic activities of Pd@CN‐x derived from different ILs were different, and further study into the influencing factors, including physical properties, N species of CN‐x, and Pd status of Pd@CN‐x, were performed.