The metal-organic framework HKUST-1 was prepared by different solvents. Several analytical tools such as scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption-desorption have been used to characterize the as-synthesized samples. Meanwhile, the solubility of organic ligands in solvents and the CH4 adsorption capacity of samples were also detected. The results showed that HKUST-1 prepared with N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) used as solvent exhib-ited excellent CH4 adsorption performance. Further studies have shown that the improved CH4 adsorption properties could be attributed to higher solubility of the ligand 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid in DMF and larger specific surface areas. This work can provide a novel sight for preparing highly efficient CH4 adsorbent materials by improving the solubility of ligand.