This research has investigated the possibility of using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane to treat the emulsified oily wastewater. Experimental results showed that the microfiltration could effectively treat the laboratory prepared emulsified oily wastewater and the fouled membrane could be recovered by using conventional cleaning methods. Similar promising results were obtained to treat factory emulsified oily wastewater by using microfiltration. In addition, different cleaning methods were investigated to recover the fouled membrane flux. Results showed that suitable interval operation of filtration and aeration could eliminate the membrane fouling under relative lower transmembrame pressure. Experimental results provided the basis for further investigation of its application in factory emulsified oily wastewater treatment. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.