Abstract: Anode plasma electrolysis was used to treat phenol in aqueous solution with high concentration of salt. The generate conditions of anode plasma and the influence of various factors, such as salt concentration, phenol concentration and treating time, on the removal rate of COD were studied. It was demonstrated from the experimental results that, under the conditions of phenol 0.2 g·L^-1, NaCl 0.4 mol·L^-1, applied voltage 90 V on the bath, the degradation efficiency of phenol was 100% after treatment for 10 min; the COD concentration decreased from 0.464 to 0.01 g·L^-1, and the COD removal rate reached to 97.8% after treatment for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, the mechanism of anode plasma electrolysis for treating phenol in high salt aqueous solution was proposed and discussed preliminary.