PbO2-ZrO2 nanocomposite electrodes were prepared by the anodic codeposition in the lead nitrate plating bath containing ZrO2 nanoparticles. The influences of the ZrO2 nanoparticles concentration, current density, temperature and stirring rate of the plating bath on the composition of the nanocomposite electrodes were investigated. The surface morphology and the structure of the nanocomposite electrodes were characterized by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The experimental results show that the addition of ZrO2 nanoparticles in the electrodeposition process of lead dioxide significantly increases the lifetime of nanocomposite electrodes. The PbO2-ZrO2 nanocomposite electrodes have a service life of 141 h which is almost four times longer than that of the pure PbO2 electrodes. The morphology of PbO2-ZrO2 nanocomposite electrodes is more compact and finer than that of PbO2 electrodes. The relative surface area of the composite electrodes is approximately 2 times that of the pure PbO2 electrodes. The structure test shows that the addition of ZrO2 nanoparticles into the plating bath decreases the grain size of the PbO2-ZrO2 nanocomposite electrodes. The anodic polarization curves show that the oxygen evolution overpotential of PbO2-ZrO2 nanocomposite electrodes is higher than PbO2 electrodes. The pollutant anodic oxidation experiment show that the PbO2-ZrO2 nanocomposite electrode exhibited the better performance for the degradation of 4-chlorophenol than PbO2 electrode, the removal ratio of COD reached 96.2%. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.