The objective of this study was to investigate the degradation removal and pathway of tetracycline (TC) antibiotic from aqueous solution using H 2 O 2 alone. Meanwhile, the effects of some operational parameters including initial concentration of H 2 O 2 (29–580 mM), pH (3.3–10), and contact time (10–180 min) on the removal efficiency of TC were measured. The results showed that the removal of TC increased with increasing initial H 2 O 2 dosage, pH and treatment time, and about 97% of TC was removed by H 2 O 2 with the concentration of 174 mM in alkaline aqueous solution. Experiments with different scavengers indicated that TC degradation occurred via a direct molecular reaction instead of active radicals. Nine transformation products were identified, but only three ones were the final products. These products resulted from hydroxylation, loss of some functional groups and cleavage of benzene rings of TC. These results demonstrated a new oxidative transformation pathway of TC induced by H 2 O 2 without combination, further supporting the important role of oxidant species in the environmental fate of TCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]