Total phosphorus (TP) removal performance and application for wastewater treatment of polyphosphate-accumulating bacteria (PAB) in constructed wetlands (CWs) were investigated. In this study, a novel isolated ultraviolet (UV) mutant PZ2 with phosphate-accumulating ability was screened from domestic wastewater and identified as Pseudomonas putida by 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequencing analysis. The TP removal performance of PZ2 in the synthetic wastewater reached the highest of 93.95 % within 45 h. Two vertical subsurface flow CWs planted with two aquatic macrophytes Canna indica and Acorus calamus were newly designed. After inoculating PZ2 into two CWs within 45 h, the average chemical oxygen demand (COD), TP, and ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N) removal efficiencies reached 68.50, 60.22, and 66.81 %, respectively. Vegetation type and filter size significantly influenced the TP removal capability of PZ2 in CWs. Meanwhile, considerable qualitative differences were found in the pollutant removal efficiencies of PZ2 with and without CWs in synthetic wastewater. These results could also indicate potential applications of the UV mutagenesis in PAB isolation and the newly designed CWs in wastewater treatments.