In this study, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), granular active carbon (AC), and Ca2+/polyacrylamide (PAM) were used to enhance granulation in three upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors, UASB-PVA, UASB-AC, and UASB-PAM. The experimental results showed that the start-up of the UASB-PVA reactor was the fastest, UASB-PVA, UASB-AC, and UASB-PAM took 44, 48 and 54 d, respectively, and the performance of UASB-PVA was relatively stable and less fluctuating. When organic load was up to ∼13 kg chemical oxygen demand (COD)/(m3·d), biogas production of PVA sludge, AC sludge, and PAM sludge were 19.10, 12.32, and 15.13 L/d, respectively, and the biogas production of the three reactors was: UASB-PVA>UASB-PAM>UASB-AC. After 128 days of operation, the granulation effect of the sludge from the three reactors was ranked from high to low in the following order: UASB-PVA>UASB-AC>UASB-PAM. In the process of load shock, the COD removal efficiency (CODRE) and N H 4 + -N removal efficiency ( N H 4 + -NRE) of the UASB-PVA was the most stable under different load impacts, the standard deviation of CODRE and N H 4 + -NRE were 2.7% and 8.7%, respectively. The total fluorescence intensity of dissolved organic matter in the effluent of UASB-PVA, AC, and PAM were 2.5 × 105 – 5.5 × 105, 1.8 × 105 – 13.2 × 105, and 1.5 × 105 – 11.5 × 105, respectively. The change range of the total fluorescence intensity of UASB-PVA was the minimal under load impact. The UASB-PVA can play an important role in the upgrading of sewage treatment plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]