Ten phenol-degrading bacterial strains were isolated from mixture of activated sludge and wastewater of a petroleum chemical plant. The five isolates (PD1, PD2, PD6, PD7 and PD39) were identified as Pseudomonas sp.,the four (PD4, PD5, PD8 and PD9) as Acinetobacter sp.,and the one (PD3) as Comamonas sp.by 16S rDNA sequence. Biodegradation characteristics of phenol, optimal conditions for growth, substrate range, activities of catechol 1,2-dioxygenase and catechol 2,3-dioxygenase, and biotreatment of phenol-containing wastewater of Pseudomonas sp.PD39 were investigated in detail. The results indicated that the optimal conditions for growth and degradation of strain PD39 are beginning pH of medium 7.0, growth temperature 30 degrees C, concentration of phenol 800 mg/L. PD39 was capable of metabolizing phenol at concentrations up to 1200 mg/L and removing 637 mg/L in industrial wastewater by 99.96% in 72 h. This strain possesses a good application potential as a bioaugmentation strain in the activated sludge system for treatment of phenol-containing wastewater.