Shear-induced dissociation coupling with ultrafiltration (SID-UF) was used to remove and separate copper and zinc from both simulative effluent and real electroplating effluent using polyacrylate sodium (PAAS) as complexant. The effects of pH and the mass ratio of polymer on metal ions (P/M) on the removal of copper and zinc were investigated in the ultrafiltration tests, and the optimum pH and P/M were 7.0 and 25, respectively. The shear rate distributions on the membrane surface at various rotating speeds were simulated by CFD software. The shear stabilities of the polymer-metal complexes studied at various pHs indicated that the complexes would dissociate when the shear rate exceeded the critical shear rates (γc), and the order of critical shear rate was PAA-Zn>PAA-Cu at the same pH. The contrast between these two complexes shear stabilities was used to separate copper and zinc and recovery complexant from electroplating effluent by SID-UF. The results show that copper and zinc can be separated at 1.06×105 s-1<γ < 1.58×105 s-1 at pH 7.0, and PAAS can also be regenerated at γ >1.58×105 s-1. Compared to conventional complexationultrafiltration, SID-UF is a green and efficient method for the separation of metals and the regeneration of complexant.