Previous studies have confirmed that Stenotrophomonas maltophilia can bind an appreciable amount of Cu (II) and degrade BaP. However, the removal mechanisms of Cu(II) coexisted with BaP by S. maltophilia are still unclear. In this study, the micro-interaction of contaminants on the cellular surface was investigated. The results indicated that carboxyl groups played an important role in the binding of copper to the thallus and that the cell walls were the main adsorption sites. Nevertheless, these reactive groups had no obvious effect on the uptake of BaP. Instead, the disruption and modification of cell walls accelerated transportation of BaP across the membrane into cells. The observation of SEM-EDS confirmed that Cu(II) would be adsorbed and precipitated onto the cell surface but would also be removed by extracellular precipitation when BaP coexisted. And the XPS analysis reflected that part of Cu(II) bound onto biosorbents changed into Cu(I) and Cu. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd.