A new efficient catalyst, CoTSPc@chitosan, was developed by immobilizing water soluble cobalt (II) tetrasulfophthalocyanine onto adsorbent chitosan microspheres covalently for the heterogeneous catalytic oxidation of C. I. Acid Red 73 with H2O2. The result indicated that the COD removal and discoloration of C. I. Acid Red 73 made 55 and 95% respectively in the presence of CoTSPc@chitosan with H2O2 in 4h. In addition, CoTSPc@chitosan-H2O2 system could proceed efficiently in a relatively wide pH range and remain high catalytic activity after 6 reuse cycles. Furthermore, the adsorption study of CoTSPc@chitosan confirmed that chitosan was an outstanding support which contributed a lot to the removal reaction. In conclusion, the combination of adsorption process and catalytic oxidation made the CoTSPc@chitosan-H2O2 system achieve a simple, efficiently and environmentally friendly water treatment. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.