In this study, vanillin, a quorum sensing (QS) blocker, and proteinase K were employed to investigate the effect of QS and extracellular proteins on the microbial attachment of aerobic granular activated sludge (AGAS). Results clearly showed that both vanillin and proteinase K could reduce attachment potential of AGAS, and the combined use of them was more effective in reducing attachment biomass of AGAS. The contents of N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) and extracellular proteins were reduced in the presence of vanillin and proteinase K. Besides, it was found that extracellular proteins could promote microbial attachment of AGAS, and it was also revealed that AHLs-mediated QS might be involved in microbial attachment of AGAS through the regulation of extracellular proteins. This study suggested that both QS and extracellular proteins might play important roles in the development of "AGAS biofilm" from the perspective of the biofilm. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.