Chromate [Cr(VI)] and azo dyes are common pollutants which may co-exist in some industrial effluents. Hence studies of biological treatment of industrial wastewater should include investigation of the co-removal of these two pollutants. Brevibacterium casei, which can reduce Cr(VI) in the presence of the azo dye Acid Orange 7 (AO7) under nutrient-limiting condition, was isolated from a sewage sludge sample of a dyeing factory. Response surface methodology, which is commonly used to optimize growth conditions for food microorganisms to maximize product(s) yield, was used to determine the optimal conditions for chromate reduction and dye decolourization by B. casei. The optimal conditions were 0.24 g/L glucose, 3.0 g/L (NH4)(2)SO4 and 0.2 g/L peptone at pH 7 and 35 degrees C. The predicted maximum chromate reduction efficiencies and dye decolourization were 83.4 +/- 0.6 and 40.7 +/- 1.7%, respectively. A new mechanism was proposed for chromate reduction coupling with AO7 decolourization by B. casei. Under nutrient-limiting condition, AO7 was used as an e(-) donor by the reduction enzyme(s) of B. casei for the reduction of Cr(VI). The resulted Cr(III) then complexed with the oxidized AO7 to form a purple coloured intermediate. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.