Fe alginate gel beads were prepared by adding sodium alginate aqueous solution drop-wise into the FeCl(3) gelling solution using a syringe needle at room temperature, and measured in terms of size, mass and Fe content, then characterized using SEM, XRD, FT-IR, XPS and TGA, respectively. The gel beads were evaluated as the heterogeneous Fenton catalysts for oxidative degradation of two typical azo dyes, Reactive Blue 222 and Acid Black 234 in the presence of H(2)O(2) under visible light irradiation. Some important factors affecting the preparation of the beads and their catalytic function such as FeCl(3) concentration, irradiation intensity and pH value were examined. The results indicated that Fe(3+) ions coordinated with oxygen atoms in carboxyl groups from glucose chains of alginates to form the Fe alginate gel beads. And Fe(3+) ion was a central cation that has a coordination number of 6 in the complex. Higher concentration of FeCl(3) solution caused the significant increase in the Fe content of the gel bead during preparation. Fe alginate gel beads showed a great catalytic role in the degradation of the azo dyes in a wide pH range of 3.0-8.0. Moreover, higher Fe content and increasing irradiation intensity could promote the catalytic performance of Fe alginate gel beads. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.