In this study, the photodegradation process of methyl orange (MO) catalyzed by Fe(III) and citric acid and the reaction kinetics were investigated in detail at pHs from 2 to 8. The results show that the photodegradation of MO is slow in the presence of Fe(III) or citric acid alone. However, it is markedly enhanced when Fe(III) and citric acid coexist. High initial citric acid or initial Fe(III) concentrations lead to increased photodegradation of MO. And Fe(III) citrate mediated photodegradation of MO is optimized at pH 6. The photoproduction of hydroxyl radicals (center dot OH) in different catalytic systems was determined by HPLC. And the concentrations of Fe(II) and citric acid concentration in the process of the reaction were analyzed. The photodegradation of MO obeys to pseudo-zero order kinetics with respect to MO and the degradation reaction occurs in two phases. At the initial initiation stage, degradation rate is relatively slow, and significantly increases at a later acceleration stage. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.