Attempts were made in this study to examine the combined polyferric sulfate (PFS) coagulation, Fenton and sedimentation process for treatment of non-degradable antibiotic fermentation wastewater. The experimental results indicated that 66.6% of color and 72.4% of chemical oxygen demand (COD) were removed under the optimum conditions of PFS dosage 200 mg/L and pH 4.0. In addition, optimal parameters of Fenton process were determined to be 150 mg/L of H2O2 dosage, 120 mg/L of FeSO4 and 1 h of reaction time. When Fenton treated effluent was controlled at pH 7.0, the pollutants could be further removed by sedimentation process. The overall color, COD and suspended solids (SS) removal reached 97.3%. 96.9% and 86.7% under selected conditions, respectively. Thus this study might offer an effective way for wastewater treatment of antibiotics manufacturer and pharmaceutical industry. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.