A passive sampling technique for the determination of time‐weighted‐average concentrations of phenolic priority pollutants in water is described. Phenols permeate a silicone polycarbonate membrane and are collected on a polymeric adsorbent. For high concentration ranges, phenols are adsorbed on the XAD‐7 resin and then desorbed with acetonitrile. Low ppb concentrations of phenols are analyzed by collection on Tenax‐TA followed by thermal desorption. Separation and quantification is achieved by capillary column gas chromatography using a flame ionization detector. A linear relationship between the amount of phenols collected and the products of the exposure time and phenolic concentrations over the range of 5 ppb ‐ 20 ppm have been determined. Temperature and solution pH affect permeation rates of the phenols. The sampling method is simple, inexpensive and suitable for multilocation monitoring.