a b s t r a c tThis study investigated the process of potassium permanganate (KMnO 4 ) oxidation and in situ formed hydrous manganese dioxides (␦MnO 2 ) (i.e., KMnO 4 oxidation and ␦MnO 2 adsorption) for the treatment of dye wastewater. The effectiveness of decolorization, removing dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and increasing biodegradable oxygen demand (BOD) were compared among these processes of KMnO 4 oxidation, ␦MnO 2 adsorption, and KMnO 4 oxidation and ␦MnO 2 adsorption. ␦MnO 2 adsorption contributed to the maximum DOC removal of 65.0%, but exhibited limited capabilities of decolorizing and increasing biodegradability. KMnO 4 oxidation alone at pH 0.5 showed satisfactory decrease of UV-vis absorption peaks, and the maximum BOD 5 /DOC value of 1.67 was achieved. Unfortunately, the DOC removal was as low as 27.4%. Additionally, the great amount of acid for pH adjustment and the much too low pH levels limited its application in practice. KMnO 4 oxidation and ␦MnO 2 adsorption at pH 2.0 was the best strategy prior to biological process, in balancing the objectives of decolorization, DOC removal, and BOD increase. The optimum ratio of KMnO 4 dosage to X-GRL concentration (R KMnO 4 /X-GRL ) was determined to be 2.5, at which KMnO 4 oxidation and ␦MnO 2 adsorption contributed to the maximal DOC removal of 53.4%. Additionally, the optimum pH for X-GRL treatment was observed to be near 3.0.