The degradation of phenol in water in Al-O2-acid system was investigated.The experiments showed that under the conditions of ρ(A1)=4 g/L,ρ(dissolved oxygen)=9.08 mg/L and pH=2,20 mg/L phenol was degraded for 5 h,and the removal rate could reach 99.71%.Methylene blue was used as the trapping agent for·OH,and the production process of OH was indirectly determined by spectrophotometry,and the concentration of H2O2 was determined by DMP(2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline)spectrophotometer.Al-O2-acid system is an Al-mediated process,wherein the Al0(zero-valent aluminum)induces·OH,and then oxidizes phenol.The increase and decrease trends of H2O2 are consistent with the determined concentration of·OH and the degradation trend of phenol.The degradation of phenol in the Al-O2-acid system was clearly pH-dependent and followed pseudo-first-order kinetics.Under the test conditions,the apparent activation energy of phenol degradation was 74.49 kJ/mol.The Al-O2-acid system is efficient and cost-effective,and has a promising application prospect in the degradation of phenol-containing wastewater.