Ultrasonic treatment can disintegrate sludge, enhance microbial activity and improve sludge dewaterability at different energy inputs. To find their relationship, the three phenomena during ultrasonic treatment were investigated synchronously, and an experimental model was established to describe the process of ultrasonic sludge disintegration. Analysis results showed that the changes of sludge microbial activity and dewaterability were dependent on sludge disintegration degree during ultrasonic treatment. When sludge disintegration degree was lower than 20%. sludge flocs were disintegrated into micro-floc aggregates and the microbial activity increased over 20%. When sludge disintegration degree was over 40%, most cells were destroyed at different degree, and Sludge activity decreased drastically. Only when sludge disintegration degree was 2-5%, sludge dewaterability was improved with the conditioning of FeCl3. It was also found that the sonication with low density and long duration was more efficient than sonication with high density and short duration at the same energy input for sludge disintegration, and a transmutative power function model can be used to describe the process of ultrasonic disintegration. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.