The aim of this work was to study the effect of tetracycline, which is on the growth, physiological characteristics, and contaminants removal by Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The results showed that the biomass and photosynthetic pigment concentration of C. reinhardtii exposed to tetracycline were lower than those of the control, while the superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) activities, and the malondialdehyde (MDA) content, were higher than those of the control. Additionally, when the tetracycline concentration reached 0.25 mg/L, the removal of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) decreased from 80.8 to 55.0%, 100 to 92.5%, and 36.5 to 11.5%, respectively. Thus, tetracycline concentrations of 0-0.25 mg/L are expected to have a significant effect on the growth and nutrient removal of C. reinhardtii in recycled water from wastewater treatment plants. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.