The palladium-loaded activated carbon fiber (Pd/ACF) adsorption/electroreduction process was employed for electrocatalytic dechlorination of pentachlorophenol (PCP) solution. PCP in water was adsorbed onto Pd (4.2 wt.%)/ACF first and then the PCP was degraded at a constant current. At 25 mA/cm(2), the degradation of PCP was 94.8% after electrolysis of 200 min and phenol was the main product with a yield of 86.1% and a Current efficiency of 17.4%. After being reused three times, the Pd (4.2 wt.%)/ACF cathode still had acceptable electrocatalytic activity. (C) 2005 Published by Elsevier B.V.