Energy and environment are drawing greater attention today, particularly with the rapid development of the economy and increase consumption of energy in China. At present, coal-fired power plants are mainly responsible for atmospheric air pollution. The selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology is a highly effective method for NO(x) control. The present study identified and quantified the energy consumption and the environmental impacts of SCR system throughout the whole life cycle, including production and transportation of manufacturing materials, installation and operation of SCR technology. The analysis was conducted with the utilization of life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology which provided a quantitative basis for assessing potential improvements in the environmental performance of the system. The functional unit of the study was 5454 t NO(x) emission from an existing Chinese pulverized coal power plant for 1 year. The current study compared life cycle emissions from two types of de-NO(x) technologies, namely the SCR technology and the selective non-catalytic reduction (SNCR) technology, and the case that NO(x) was emitted into atmosphere directly. The results showed that the environmental impact loading resulting from SCR technology (66810 PET(2000)) was smaller than that of flue gas emitted into atmosphere directly (164121 PET(2000)) and SNCR technology (105225 PET(2000)). More importantly, the SCR technology is much more effective at the elimination of acidification and nutrient enrichment than SNCR technology and the case that NO(x) emitted into atmosphere directly. This SCR technology is more friendly to the environment, and can play an important role in NO(x) control for coal-fired power plants as well as industrial boilers. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.