This study presents a novel pre-magnetized Fe-0/ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid/air (pre-Fe-0/EDTA/air) Fentonlike system to remove sulfamethazine (SMT). SMT removal only reached 10.6% in pre-Fe-0/air system (0.2 g L-1, SMT 3 mg L-1, pH 5) while reached 88.5% in pre-Fe-0/EDTA/air system within 1 h (0.2 g L-1, SMT 3 mg L-1, EDTA 2 mM, pH 5). EDTA could combine with Fe-II or Fe-III to keep iron soluble in the solution and the fast activation of molecular oxygen by Fe-EDTA complex could induce the fast and more production of H2O2. It was found that much more H2O2 (5.1 mg L-1) and % OH radical (26.4 mu M) were produced in the pre-Fe-0/EDTA/air system than in the pre-Fe-0/air system (0.06 mg L-1, 0.6 mu M) within 1 h. The degradation rate of SMT (1 0 3) in pre-Fe-0/EDTA/air system (38.4 min(-1)) was also 2.3 times as large as that in the Fe-0/EDTA/air system (17.0 min(-1)), owing to the fast corrosion rate of pre-Fe-0. 81.5 mgL(-1) total Fe ions could be generated in preFe(0)/ EDTA/air while 53.6 mg L-1 in Fe-0/EDTA/air. Fe-0 dosage (0.05-0.8 g L-1) and EDTA dosage (0-8 mM) were optimized and the optimal dosage for Fe-0 and EDTA was 0.2 g L-1 and 2 mM, respectively. The degradation rate of SMT in pre-Fe-0/EDTA/air system were 1.6-2.9 times at different initial pH (3-6) and 2.3-3.1 times in the presence of inorganic ions (SO42-, Cl- and HCO3-) and natural organic matter (NOM) compared with Fe-0/EDTA/air system. Decrease of Fe-0 contact angle in the presence of magnetization and EDTA enhanced the corrosion rate of Fe-0. Accordingly, pre-Fe-0/EDTA/air system would be a cost-effective and promising ecofriendly alternative for removal of SMT.