In this research, decolorization and aromatic ring degradation of colored textile wastewater was investigated by indirect electrochemical process in a batch reactor. The graphite and sodium chloride were used as electrode and supporting electrolyte, respectively. Reactive Yellow 3 (RY3) was used as model compound. The effects of influential variables governing the efficiency of the process such as initial dye concentration, pH, current density, and electrolyte concentration were studied. The decrease of absorbance at UV region in UV-Vis spectra was indicative of the aromatic ring degradation. Kinetic analysis indicates that the electrochemical decolorization rates might be obeyed as a first order model. The UV-Vis data supported the decolorization and degradation of aromatic intermediates of RY3. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.