Dilution was employed as a pretreatment strategy to increase light transmittance and decrease ammonia toxicity in piggery effluent prior to the cultivation of microalgae. The dilution effect was quantitatively determined based on both the maximum specific nutrient consumption rate and the maximum growth coefficient to minimize the usage of diluent. The biomass productivity of microalgae was also evaluated to select the best species among the five different candidates examined. A 20-fold dilution of piggery wastewater resulted in decreased chromaticity (584 mg Pt-Co L-1) and total nitrogen (76 mg L-1), on which the microalgae cultivation was more effective for an algal growth compared to the other dilution factors. If the initial cell concentration of Scenedesmus quadricauda increased, the production of biomass tended to improve. Robust growth and harvesting of S. quadricauda were achieved, and the associated consistent removal of inorganic nutrients was accomplished during the semi-continuous cultivation of the best species.