Magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP) precipitation was introduced to remove ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) in autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion (ATAD) in this study. The dosing time of MgCl2 center dot 6H(2)O and NaH2PO4 center dot 2H(2)O will influence the removal efficiency of ammonium nitrogen greatly, and the time interval of 2nd, 7th, 12th day were chosen in ATAD process. The lowest NH4+-N concentration was found in the 2nd day dosing digester, and 38.37% of VS removal rate was obtained after 12 days digestion, which achieved stabilization 9 days earlier than the non-dosing digester. It revealed that removal of ammonium nitrogen could accelerate the sludge stabilization process. Meanwhile, 49.30% of VS removal rate was found in the 2nd day dosing digester in the 21st day, much higher than that in the non-dosing digester, the 7th day dosing digester, and the 12th day dosing digester, with the corresponding value of 38.37%, 38.38% and 37.04%, respectively. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.