The electrochemical oxidation of vanillic acid (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzoic acid), one of the most representative phenolic type compounds present in olive oil mill wastewater, was studied by galvanostatic electrolysis using boron-doped diamond (BDD) as anode. The influence of several operating parameters, such as applied current density, initial vanillic acid concentration, temperature and initial pH value was investigated. Measurements of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) were used to follow the oxidation. The experimental data indicated that the COD removal follows a pseudo first-order kinetics and the apparent rate constant increased with the applied current and temperature and decreased with pH and organic concentration. (C) 2017 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.