The examination of the effectiveness of the chemical oxidation using Fenton's reagent (H2O2/Fe2+) for the reduction of the organic content of wastewater generated from a textile industry has been studied. The experimental results indicate that the oxidation process leads to a reduction in the chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration up to 45%. Moreover, the reduction is reasonably fast at the first stages of the process, since the COD concentration is decreased up to 45% within four hours and further treatment time does not add up to the overall decrease in the COD concentration (48% reduction within six hours). The maximum color removal achieved was 71.5%. In addition, the alterations observed in the organic matter during the development of the process, as indicated by the ratios of COD/TOC and BOD/COD and the oxidation state, show that a great part of the organic substances, which are not completely mineralized, are subjected to structural changes to intermediate organic by-products. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.