A novel Mg(II) metal–organic framework (Mg-MOF) was synthesised based on the ligand of 2,2'-bipyridine-4,4'dicarboxylic acid (Bpdc). Single-crystal X-ray structural analysis confirmed that 3D-nanostructure Mg-MOFs formed a monoclinic system with a channel size of 15.733 Å × 23.736 Å. The N₂ adsorption isotherm, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy were performed to characterise the thermal stability and purity of the Mg-MOFs. The adsorption studies on four typical volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted during wood drying showed that Mg-MOFs have noteworthy adsorption capacities, especially for benzene and β-pinene with adsorptions of 182.26 mg/g and 144.42 mg/g, respectively. In addition, the adsorption of Mg-MOFs mainly occurred via natural adsorption, specifically, multi-layer physical adsorption, accompanied by chemical forces, which occurred in the pores where the VOCs molecules combined with active sites. As an adsorbent, Mg-MOFs exhibit versatile behaviour for toxic-gas accumulation.