Commercial available zero valent aluminum under air-equilibrated acidic conditions (ZVAl/H+/air system) demonstrated an excellent capacity to remove aqueous organic compounds. Acetaminophen (ACTM), the active ingredient of the over-the-counter drug Tylenol®, is widely present in the aquatic environment and therefore the treatment of ACTM-contaminated water calls for further research. Herein we investigated the oxidative removal of ACTM by ZVAl/H+/air system and the reaction mechanism. In acidic solutions (pH < 3.5), ZVAl displayed an excellent capacity to remove ACTM. More than 99% of ACTM was eliminated within 16 hr in pH 1.5 reaction solutions initially containing 2.0 g/L aluminum and 2.0 mg/L ACTM at 25 ± 1°C. Higher temperature and lower pH facilitated ACTM removal. The addition of different iron species Fe 0 , Fe 2+ and Fe 3+ into ZVAl/H+/air system dramatically accelerated the reaction likely due to the enhancing transformation of H 2 O 2 to HO· via Fenton's reaction. Furthermore, the primary intermediate hydroquinone and the anions formate, acetate and nitrate, were identified and a possible reaction scheme was proposed. This work suggested that ZVAl/H + /air system may be potentially employed to treat ACTM-contaminated water.