A double Monod form was employed to describe two-step hydrogenotrophic denitrification, and the saturation constants of nitrate, nitrite and hydrogen were determined by batch tests. A combined system of gas-permeable membrane and a biofilm reactor (GPM-BR) was employed to remove nitrate from drinking water. The gas-permeable membrane was tested to exclusively deliver hydrogen to an independent attached growth system. The denitrification performance of the GPM-BR was investigated with different nitrate loadings of 96.78, 163.16 and 342.58 mgN/(Ld). The nitrate removal rate (NRR) of the reactor could achieve 471.36 mg N/(Ld) with sufficient dissolved hydrogen (DH) in the batch tests. While in the continuous experiments, NRR ranged from 96.72 to 301.44 mg N/(Ld) under different nitrate loadings. Although low nitrate loading of 96.78 mgN/(Ld) led to better nitrate removal, the denitrification capacity of GPM-BR would be limited and sulfate reduction occurred. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.